Vegas Predicts Klay Thompson’s Return Could Make Warriors 50-Win Team
By Peter Dewey
The NBA offseason saw several big names switch teams, including Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook, and Kemba Walker all finding new homes.
However, one of the biggest moves is with a player staying right where he’s been the past two seasons, even though he was unable to play. Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors All-Star guard, is on track to return from a torn Achilles in the 2021-22 season, and oddsmakers think he could change the Warriors’ outlook.
Golden State lost Thompson in the 2019-20 season due to a torn ACL he suffered in the previous year’s NBA Finals, and it struggled mightily, landing the No. 2 overall pick and drafting James Wiseman.
The Warriors also missed the playoffs last season, as they lost both of their play-in tournament games to fall from the No. 8 seed to out of the field. Steph Curry had an MVP-caliber season, but it was clear that Golden State needed to give him more help last year.
Now, with Thompson expected to return early on in the 2021-22 campaign, WynnBET is projecting the Warriors to win 48.5 games with the over/under set as a -116 pick’em. Does Thompson’s return really warrant a jump from a 39-33 team last year to nearly a 50-win team in the 2021-22 season?
History tells us that it can, as the Warriors won a record 73 games with Thompson, Curry and Draymond Green leading the way, but that came back in the 2015-16 NBA season.
Kevin Durant has come and gone since then, the Warriors have won two more titles and now instead of Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut, it’s Wiseman, Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga.
If Moody or Kuminga can pop in their rookie season, the Warriors could make some noise. Thompson obviously gives Golden State a boost, but he may not be the same player after two major injuries.
Curry is still one of the five-best players in the league, but he needed more consistent help last season on offense. The Warriors were 8.6 points better per 100 possessions with Curry on the floor versus off the floor last season.
In the nine games Curry missed last season, Golden State was just 2-7. The supporting cast has to be better, and the Warriors will be relying on some young players to step up and make things happen.
Maybe Vegas is right and Thompson is the game-changer for Golden State, but relying on two rookies and a guy that is coming off back-to-back season-ending injuries to fix your franchise is a risky proposition and not one that I’d have confidence in until Thompson is back on the floor and looking like his old self.
Does Klay Thompson make the Warriors a 50-win team? Make your pick on the WynnBET app.