3 Bold Predictions for Klay Thompson's Season Debut Tonight vs. Cavaliers

Klay Thompson is set to make his long awaited return to the hardwood for the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Warriors are 8.5-point favorites at WynnBET Sportsbook with a total of 216.5, but let's focus on Thompson, who will be playing for the first time since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals after he tore his ACL and later a torn Achilles.

Here are three bold predictions for Thompson in his first game of the season.

Bold Predictions for Klay Thompson Return

• OVER 12.5 Points
• OVER 2.5 Made 3-Pointers
• UNDER 21.5 Minutes

Klay Thompson OVER 12.5 Points

I envision the Warriors will look to get Thompson going early and often in this one in front of the home crowd. Of course, it's not a perfect science but with a methodical ramp up and recovery time, I don't expect too much rust from the marksman.

The Warriors are top 10 in offensive rating this season, and he should have no issue fitting into the incredible spacing around Stephen Curry. I expect Thompson to put up a healthy stat line and clear this total.

Klay Thompson OVER 2.5 Made 3-Pointers

In a similar vein, the Warriors are likely going to try and get the career 41.9% 3-point shooter going from his comfortable spot on the floor, beyond the arc.

While the injuries to Thompson may cap some of his explosiveness and defensive ability, there should be little fear that he will still be a knockdown three-point shooter.

Even on a minutes restriction, which I will touch on below, Thompson is going to take a high volume of three's and I'll side with the always dangerous shooter to clear this total.

Thompson UNDER 21.5 Minutes

Steve Kerr said that Thompson will likely play 15-20 minutes in his return, according to coach Steve Kerr.

Of course, game scripts change over the course of 48 minutes, but I believe that the Warriors ease Thompson back into his role in the rotation. While I believe we can see a microwave scoring outing from Thompson, it may be in a short stint.