Klay Thompson injures knee in collision with J.R. Smith
By Kareem Gantt
Seeing Klay Thompson limp off the court was not a sight Warriors fans were hoping for.
Klay Thompson may be known as the “third wheel” to Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, but make no mistake, he’s a very important piece to the Golden State Warriors championship puzzle.
Seeing him limp into the locker room after suffering an injury while going for the ball in the early stages of Game 1 of the fourth season of “Cavs vs Warriors,” you wouldn’t fault Warriors fans for being concerned that the road to back-to-back championships would be harder than they thought.
Thankfully, Thompson’s injury wasn’t serious, and he returned to the court in the first half.
This is great news for Warriors fans, as they won’t have to envision a series where Steve Kerr would be grasping at straws trying to find a replacement to Thompson’s scoring. Klay is a huge piece of what the Warriors do on offense, and losing him over a long period of time in this Finals could have had devastating consequences.
Klay’s injury just goes to show you that an NBA career can end in a blink of an eye. At least he didn’t go full Paul Pierce on us. That would have been a sight, but there have been nasty injuries in the playoffs that have changed the fortunes of the teams battling to be the best in the NBA.
The San Antonio Spurs know this all too well, as Kawhii Leonard his twisted ankle may have triggered a rebuild in the Alamo City. The Houston Rockets know this as well, as the loss of Chris Paul changed everything for the Rockets. So, if Klay was seriously hurt, it could have been a game changer for Golden State, and not in a good way.
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Fortunately, for Warriors fans at least, they can watch their team try to cruise to their second straight title with their unsung hero in tow.