One of the most anticipated games of the 2024-25 NBA season is Klay Thompson and the The Dallas Mavericks play the Golden State Warriors for the first time on Nov. 12 at Chase Center. After spending 13 seasons with the Warriors, winning four championships and appearing in five All-Star games, Thompson decided to sign with the Mavs this offseason, leaving that November game as an event that is circled on everyone’s calendar.
While some players were hoping it would be a Christmas Day game, this match took place on the first day of the NBA Emirates Cup 2024The extra stakes led one former All-Star to believe Klay would deliver an extraordinary performance.
Kenyon Martin, an All-Star with the New Jersey Nets in 2004, recently appeared on “The Gilbert Area Show” and talked about what he expects from his first game in the Bay Area. “Klay’s gonna get 35 shots. They’re gonna make sure he gets all the shots. Take 35 shots… [Mavericks coach Jason] The kid has a hole in him, so he’s going to make sure this boy gets all the shots.
Kenyon Martin: “Kick ass. Klay [Thompson] I will take 35 photos [against the Warriors].”
Rashad McCants: “If they focus their game plan on Klay and they still have Luka [Doncic] and Kyrie [Irving]…Someone has to be let go.
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/V43AcGgMen
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 19, 2024
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If Thompson made 35 shots in this game, based on last year’s efficiency numbers, he would have scored about 43 points. He’s probably hoping he can score even more than that to prove he still has what it takes to be a star player on a championship-caliber team.
Thompson averaged 17.9 points per game last season while shooting 38.7 percent from three-point range. The Mavericks hope the pairing of one of the game’s best shooters with Luka Doncic And Kyrie Irving This will make the offense even more lethal. Mavs general manager Nico Harrison even went on record saying they believe they could have won the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics last season if they had Klay Thompson.
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