The suffering for the Golden State Warriors started in the 2019 playoffs when Kevin Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles. They proceeded to lose Klay Thompson to an ACL tear in the NBA Finals and Stephen Curry to a right-hand fracture at the beginning of the 2019-20 season. These severe blows led to the Warriors being the worst team in the NBA that season.
Even though Kevin Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason, the Warriors were set to make a strong comeback in the 2020-21 season but the basketball gods had different plans. Right before the season, Klay Thompson suffered an Achilles injury which led to him missing another season. Although Stephen Curry had a personal best season after the 2016 MVP season, the Warriors did not make it to the playoffs.
Warriors GM Bob Myers says there will be a “patient ramp-up” for Klay Thompson’s return
Says Thompson could make a return in January pic.twitter.com/mw87ggHTim
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 27, 2021
Golden State suffered several other injuries during the course of the season with James Wisemen and Stephen Curry missing a considerable number of games. The 2021-22 season will be redemption for the Warriors. While Andre Iguodala was acquired during the offseason, Klay is showing a promising return in the team workouts and training camp.
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Klay Thompson will return to the court in January
GM Bob Myers gave a major update on Thompson’s tentative return. Although he was expected to return by December, the Warriors are being extremely cautious with their shooting guard. They have pushed his return to January however there is no fixed date. They want him to make comeback in a home game.
The 5x All-star missed two consecutive seasons and is yet to play in the Chase Center. It is better for the Warriors to have a fully healthy Klay than risk re-aggravating his injury in a hasty return. They committed this mistake with Kevin Durant by starting him 2019 NBA finals Game 5 which led to a serious injury. As a result, KD left the Warriors after 3 glorious years and 2 championships.
Klay Thompson on the state of his game: “I can make a lot of jump shots. Pretty good at defensive sliding. My timing is a little off. Reaction time’s not there. That’s being rusty two years. I anticipate in the next four weeks playing 5-on-5 again.” pic.twitter.com/Nk9YDlfyGL
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) September 27, 2021
Klay Thompson is doing shooting drills with the team occasionally and getting back on defence. He believes his reaction time could get better and he is still rusty due to the 2-year break. He will eventually play 5v5 in a few weeks and prep for his return in January.
The Golden State Warriors are set to face LA Lakers on opening night. They will play their first preseason game on 4th October against Portland Trail Blazers with all available warriors getting some playing time according to Steve Kerr. James Wiseman suffered a meniscus injury last season and underwent successful surgery in the offseason. An update on his tentative return in awaited.
Also Read: NBA Preseason 2021: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson Playing Status for Warriors vs Blazers
