1 bold Klay Thompson prediction for first Mavericks season
Yesterday at 01:48 PM
The Dallas Mavericks are hoping that their move to acquire Klay Thompson will help the franchise win its first championship since 2011. Thompson, a four-time champion, has championship aspirations with the Mavs. The hype is exciting but can Thompson and the Mavericks live up to the high expectations?
Dallas features a talented roster. They project to be a playoff team. Of course, Thompson will unquestionably help matters with a strong performance in 2024-25. So what can fans expect from the former Golden State Warriors star?
The Mavericks’ offense is different than the Warriors’ offensive gameplan. Will Dallas run specific plays to get Thompson open shots? Sure, but the overall approach will be a change for Klay.
At 34 years old and with an extended injury history, though, the change should only benefit Thompson. Yes, it will be a transition. The fact is that Golden State features a constant motion offense with a plethora of moving parts. Meanwhile, Dallas’ offense isn’t quite as active with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving often creating for others.
However, Irving and Doncic happen to be two of the best playmakers in the NBA. Thompson can hangout in the corner and get open shots as a result. And that leads to our bold prediction.
Klay Thompson will shoot over 42 percent on his three-point attempts in 2024-25
Thompson shot 38.7 percent from beyond the arc during the 2023-24 season. That mark would be coveted by many, but it was low for a player who owns a 41.3 percent career three-point shooting mark. In 2022-23, though, Thompson shot 41.2 percent from deep.
With that being said, Thompson has not shot over 42 percent from three-point land since the 2015-16 campaign, which happened to be his age 25 season. So can Klay replicate similar results almost 10 years later?
Thompson probably will not be as productive overall in 2024-25 as he was in 2015-16. He was an All-Star that year while averaging 22.1 points per game. It was an excellent season for both Thompson and the Warriors… until they were upset by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Klay Thompson likely won’t average 22 points per outing during the upcoming campaign. From purely an efficiency standpoint, though, Thompson will receive an opportunity to consistently find the bottom of the net.
The Mavericks love to shoot the three-ball but the team was near the middle of the league in efficiency in 2023-24. Thompson is going to be asked to shoot at a high rate, and the quality of his looks should be tremendous with Doncic and Irving leading the offense.
Klay will also be more rested given the dynamic of the team’s offense. Will he still need to move around and utilize screens at times? Of course, but the Mavs simply don’t feature as much offensive action in comparison to the Warriors as far as the gameplan is concerned.
Mavericks’ offense will be fascinating to follow
Defense cannot be ignored. The Mavs’ defensive attack has some question marks, although adding players such as Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes will help matters on that end of the floor. Additionally, the rim-protecting prowesses of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford will give opponents something else to consider.
The offense will lead the charge, however. Klay Thompson can shoots the lights out and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are true superstars. Lively has the potential to take a step forward on offense, and PJ Washington is a quality option.
The Mavs may end up featuring one of the best offenses in the NBA. Thompson will be the X-factor for the Mavericks, and his performance may dictate how well the team fares during the 2024-25 season.
The post 1 bold Klay Thompson prediction for first Mavericks season appeared first on ClutchPoints.
