Klay Day lived up to the hype
Thompson's triumphant return to Golden State was everything we hoped it would be.
"I just want to play basketball. When that happens, it will be a joyous day, not only for me — but for you guys."
Klay Thompson is the ultimate dude. He's supremely talented. He works his ass off and shows how much he cares at all times. He does not care in the slightest what anyone else thinks of him. He does exactly what he's feeling and exactly what he's asked.
Klay is the NBA's king of unintentional humor. He's himself. He pays no attention to how an NBA player should walk, talk, or act. He's not above anything — playing ping pong with Australian national team staff members, taking an interview about scaffolding in New York City, or signing a toaster. The coolest guy in the room is the one who's least concerned about being cool. And as Klay was given an extended introduction last night at Chase Center, he sat there with a straight face. Locked in. Stone cold killer. He didn't need to smile — we already were for him.
Klay scored Golden State's first bucket of the night. The excitement is different this time, and you can feel it:
In the second quarter, Klay brought the house down:
And by the third quarter, everything was back to normal:
Thompson finished with 17 points in 19 minutes, leaving with less than three minutes in the game to standing ovation.
Where do we go from here? Klay's back, now what? It just so happens that the Warriors have been the best team in basketball this season in his absence. Steph's gravity as an MVP candidate, even in a down year for him, creates so many openings for others. Draymond has been a sensational defender. Andrew Wiggins shook expectations and gets buckets. The Warriors are deep, with young players in the fold as potential trade pieces, and just brought back the third member of their big three.
Last night's Klay Day — a rightful celebration for a player who deserves it — answered most of the remaining questions for the Warriors. They're a better team with Klay on the floor. His shooting and defense give Steph room to breathe.
The last piece of the 2021-22 Warriors is James Wiseman. Will his return be as triumphant as Thompson? Owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers have both paraded their young players (Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody) as their bridge to the future — will they burn it to get one more star? Do they even need to?
The Warriors are 30-9. Klay Thompson is back after 31 months, still knocking down shots. He's wearing a headband now. All is well in the universe, at least for this one night.
About last night…
Ja Morant is a frequent topic of discussion here at ICYMINBA. He is so good, and so electric, that it's impossible not to speak about what he is doing. Is there anyone else more fun to watch right now? Watch as he leaves Earth to pin this shot at the top of the backboard:
The Grizzlies blew out the Lakers (and almost coughed it up at the end). That's nine straight wins for Memphis. Remember when we had people telling Ja the Grizzlies were better without him? Dillon Brooks is expected to be sidelined for at least 3-5 weeks with an ankle injury. We'll see if that puts any wind in their sails.
It's crazy, because on any given night this would be The Ja Morant Highlight:
Sound the alarms! We have a real, player-for-player trade:
Neither player will be waived, which means... trade season is here! The Pistons, already a team that hurt to watch, traded away their worst perimeter player to take a flyer on Bol Bol. Is Bol Bol any good? Probably not. But by the end of this season, we'll know for sure. And that, my friends, is worth Brooklyn's second round pick this year.
This is one of the most important pieces of content we've shown you this year:
I wish we had more context. You can't blink fast enough to see how she ends up on the ground so quickly. Did a cord trip her? Was it her shoe? Was she off balance and just dropped? I have so many questions.
Scores. stats, and notes
Nets 121, Spurs 119 OT — Cam Thomas wins it with 1.4 seconds left. Durant who?
Clippers 106, Hawks 93 — A randomly quiet Trae Young game: 19 points, three rebounds, seven assists. Amir Coffey looks pretty good for LAC!
Wizards 102, Magic 100 — Kyle Kuzma finished with 27 points and 22 rebounds. Rui Hachimura returned to the lineup!
Raptors 105, Pelicans 101 — Fred VanVleet, again. 32 points on 8-17 from three. 29-10-7 from Siakam.
Timberwolves 141, Rockets 123 — KAT exploded for 40 points (15-25 FG), nine rebounds, and seven assists. That's important for him. There's no reason why Towns can't put up huge games consistently like Embiid and Jokic.
Nuggets 99, Thunder 95 — Jokic put up 22-18-6 in a close win. This play makes me so happy. Look at Mark Daigneault after Mann gets the steal:
Mavericks 113, Bulls 99 — The clash of streaks: Dallas wins' their sixth straight, snapping Chicago's nine game winning streak. Luka (22-14-14) shines with his third triple-double of the season. It's been a month since Chicago was held under 100 points.
Warriors 96, Cavaliers 82 — Curry's 28 paced the Warriors. Kevon Looney does his job: six points, 18 rebounds.
Trail Blazers 103, Kings 88 — Anfernee Simons is figuring it out. 31 points on 10-17 FG and 7-11 from three. Tyrese Haliburton with a smooth 17 points and nine assists.
Grizzlies 127, Lakers 119 — LeBron's 35-9-7 was the lone star performance for LA. Westbrook finished 2-12 from the field with 0 turnovers. Desmond Bane led Memphis with 23.