Sometimes, words fail. Try as we might to describe greatness, it’s often better to just watch the thing on infinite loop, to let its beauty consume us.
Klay Thompson produced such a thing tonight, when he scored 23-straight points against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second quarter. For almost any other player in the NBA, this would be a career achievement. For Klay, it’s his silver medal. Klay already went supernova once this season, exploding for 37 points in a quarter, breaking David Robinson’s old NBA record.
Let's take a look at Klay Thompson's 2nd quarter shot chart. pic.twitter.com/I8njGTSEXp
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 14, 2015
This is just another instance of the Warriors being completely unfair this season. They have these moments almost every game, ones in which they play basketball on a higher plane of existence than every other team in league. The blows flow with a beauty and precision that rivals the Spurs, and the only things more impossible than the rate at which the shots fall are the angles from which they’re taken.
Highest Scoring Quarters This Season
Klay Thompson 37 pts vs Kings
Klay Thompson 26 pts vs Grizzlies
Stephen Curry 26 pts vs Mavericks— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 14, 2015
Despite the Warriors’ dominance this season, especially at home, skeptics remain. They shoot too much, they don’t pound it inside enough, their percentages will plummet back to earth, Steph Curry can’t keep hitting these shots. Except, that’s what those skeptics have been saying all along, and they’ve yet to be proven right. They shoot so much because their offense contains some of the best shooters in the game, they don’t need to run post-ups because it doesn’t make sense for them to do so, and they’ve shown the ability to consistently hit jumpers at a terrific rate. And even If Curry does somehow fail to hit his improbable threes and and lay ups, it’s OK, because here’s Klay Thompson: ready, willing and able to burn the place down.
The ‘Dubs are up big on the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter.
