Every NBA player has games circled on their schedule before the regular season begins.
Some games just matter more. Whether it’s a matchup between opposing teams or a return to a player’s hometown, some games just have more at stake and these types of games raise the excitement of all parties involved.
Dallas Mavericks’ new star guard Klay Thompson will have November 12th circled on his calendar as he marks his first game back in Golden State since being acquired by the Mavs earlier this offseason.
Thompson spent 13 seasons with the Warriors before signing elsewhere this summer, and this Nov. 12 game will mean even more to him. He’ll want to prove he’s still the player he once was, and he’ll also want to show the Warriors that they should have prioritized signing him like they did the rest of their core.
The Mavs and the Warriors could become great rivals This season hinges on how that Nov. 12 game plays out, and one former NBA star predicts Thompson will put on a show back in the Bay Area.
On Gil’s Arena, Gilbert Arenas and Kenyon Martin dove in Thompson’s first game back at the Chase Center, and both former stars seem to think he’s going to bring it all to light.
“Foot to (insult),” they both said.
Martin predicted Thompson would take 35 shots, and he doubled down by predicting Jason Kidd would make sure he got plenty of shots.
The group then talked about how Kidd likes to target certain players who can’t play good defense (like any coach), and they briefly talked about how the Warriors can’t focus too much on stopping Thompson because Dallas also has Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving who can both get off to a quick start.
Arenas also alluded to making sure Thompson plays with freedom in this game by not worrying too much about whether his shots are falling and just letting them fly, and this game is definitely going to be filled with a lot of emotion.
Thompson had many great moments playing for the Warriors, including winning the NBA Finals four times, and everyone will be watching this game because it’s also Dallas’ first NBA Cup game.
If Thompson makes as many shots as Arenas and Martin predicted (even if that’s a bit of a stretch), Golden State is going to be in trouble. Dallas is already working to make its offense easy for Thompson by involving him in a variety of ways, and him making a statement in his first game back at Chase Center will put him back on the map, but also on the Mavs.
Doncic and Thompson are ready to become an elite duo on the field because of Doncic’s on-ball gravity and Thompson’s shooting after the catch, and Thompson will benefit from the spacing those two provide since defenses are often laser-focused on trying to stop them.
The doubters of Thompson and the Mavericks are slowly emerging, even though they’ve had an elite offseason, and Thompson will have a chance to silence all doubts on Nov. 12 with a big game.
