It’s a commitment at some point to suit up with Klay Thompson in any jersey other than the Warriors, but the four-time champion took the first step in leaving his Yellow Circle days behind when he made his preseason debut with the Dallas Mavericks. on Thursday night.
It was a long-awaited day for the Mavericks and Thompson, who, after serving 11 years with the franchise that drafted him, signed with the Mavericks on a separate agency this summer. The 34-year-old has talked about getting an unused start with Dallas, and by not participating in the Mavs’ first preseason game, we got to see that walking start Thursday night. Thompson finished the game with 10 points and three rebounds on 3-of-9 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep in 18 minutes of action. In the first quarter, Thompson missed all three of his shot attempts and, entering the game, admitted there were some special nerves.
“I haven’t been this nervous, I don’t think, since Game 1 of the 2015 Finals,” Thompson mentioned. “It felt so good to just go out and play and ease those nerves. It was a new experience, and it’s a natural feeling when you’ve been in one place for so long and to be in a new place in a new environment. To finally put on the uniform put, it felt amazing.”
The sharpshooter was allowed into the second half, with his first bucket in a Mavericks uniform in the traditional Thompson pattern. He put on an off-ball display through Daniel Gafford to gain space on the perimeter for a three-pointer with an assist from Spencer Dinwiddie. It’s a shoot-and-play game that Thompson has participated in many times during his Hall of Fame career, and it was just the first of what the Mavericks hope will be many throughout his time with Dallas.
The first 3-pointer certainly had a good shot from the front of the rim, but Thompson’s final 3-pointer came with the kind of word of honor the Warriors depended on after winning four championships. Thompson performed a double display to put the ball in control of the periphery, and it didn’t take long for him to shoot it from the 3-point area.
“For him tonight, there’s a lot of positives,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd mentioned before the game. “He has a great look that we all think he’s capable of, but he never rushes. He never forces anything. He probably turned down some shots that we would encourage him to take, but we’re confident he’s doing the right thing.” decision.”
The spacing of Thompson’s three-point shots is strictly why the Mavericks signed him. He’s a major upgrade over Tim Hardaway Jr., who filled an indistinguishable role for Dallas but was too inconsistent to be reliable. And while Thompson’s future (he turns 35 in February) and recent decline in power are considerations, he still shot 38.7% from last season at roughly 18 points per game. That may have taken second and third place last season for the Mavericks.
Their defense is yet another asset Dallas would like to have this season. Thompson is a former All-Defensive player, and while his defense hasn’t been the same since the Achilles tear and ACL tear, he is again an upgrade from most of the Dallas players on the roster a season ago. He also showed some of what he can offer on the defensive side of the ball in his preseason debut. Speed: He definitely shouldn’t be expected to be the best defender on the field for Dallas, he shouldn’t be someone the Mavericks have to worry about getting burned every night.
Now we have yet to see Thompson play games with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in the preseason, as Doncic has been out with a bruised left calf, but Kidd said let’s see which trio of stars combine in the preseason finale. on October 17 against the Milwaukee Dollars.
