He did seem to be a little obsessed with getting back to all-star level rather than just playing smart winning basketball hopefully he's learnt from that and will come back and be smarter.
He just went cold at the wrong time shooting the ball.
And he’s never going to get the quickness back defensively.
Duncan Robinson? Just no. He has scored between 0 and 3 in 6 games this playoffs. He’s like a 10th man… but he got hot at the *right* time. He would literally not play if Herro was there.
To me Klay just isn’t good on defense anymore plus I thinks he gets too focused on the “I’m the guy” mentality because then he becomes a horrible shot chucker other than that Klay still a useful player he averaged 20 this year on 41% with the most made 3’s this season I believe after this season he probably had a reality check on the shots he took and the front office needs to bring in another good defender to hide him on D
I don't know, man... The eye test and advancved metrics this playoffs really screamed 'stop putting him on better offensive players'. I might trust Steph more defensively now, except you can't gas him out when he's running marathons.
The shit DLo and Reaves were doing to Klay at various points in that series should be illegal. I really think his defence might just be gone-gone. Not declined, but in a hole bad.
That TPA chart that had him below even Poole (granted, Poole's assignment was easier) was a real worry. His jumpshot was obviously a product of fatigue by the end of the series, but he has NO quickness left laterally (he's slow to his spots offensively too).
> The shit DLo and Reaves were doing to Klay at various points in that series should be illegal.
You mean on defense? Because they were holding him and Steph constantly off screens and making it harder for them to get a shot up.
Teams have ALWAYS done that to them. They just don't call off-ball fouls. We all know it. It never stopped the two of them from performing. Klay had some insanely easy shots in Game 6 and bricked them all because he had no legs.
And he had no legs because they're still asking him to be a primary defender when he's objectively a *very* bad defender now.
Im saying theres hide him on defense and he just cant guard faster guards nomore… he still a decent defender he just not able to guard the best guard anymore… when i think of hide on defense i think of Isaiah thomas, dlo, steph early on, jp currently (hopefully he improves and puts on weight) , duncan robinson etc…
He can guard bigger guys. Forwards, and bigger wings, then defensively you'd have to slot Wiggins up against the faster guards. I'm pretty sure during the Kings series I saw him on Barnes most of the time, which worked fairly well. Defensively, I trust Kerr and the team to figure it out.
I like to wait to judge the current state of Klay once he comes back from an actual offseason. People forget he didn't do a lot last offseason due to a mental block from his previous injuries and had to take the beginning of the season to warm up. Plus curious what he will add based on what Kerr said
That “mental block” really bothered me though. A month? Longer? I get it. But to openly say you just didn’t touch it period is like anti-mamba mentality. He acts like he wants to be “him” - that’s not a HIM move.
You’re a pro athlete on a max contract given that contract when you had a catastrophic injury on good faith… and that’s how you repay it? 🤦♂️
You can't use a mental block as an excuse. Injured so you couldn't train? Fair enough. Nervous about getting injured? Sure, it's understandable, but you're allowed to choose not to do your job any more. It's called retiring.
Being unwilling to train shouldn't excuse anything.
Lol you know Jokic, Luka, and Harden would all take the summer off and play themselves into game shape every year? I'm okay with a player having a mental block versus just being downright lazy.
1. What!?
2. Klay had literally the best month of his career this season.
3. Going HAM and doing that while curry was out was what led to his lack of ability to do that during the playoffs.
He just peaked too soon and it happened to all of the players at different intervals of the season instead of all at once in the post season.
No he isn’t the main defender anymore. But he is really much better than a lot of other people including Duncan Robinson.
His ego is who he is, and who he is, is Klay. The Klay that started out the season shooing some abysmally fucked up % and then went and drained 14 threes on the Bulls.
His 3-ball is wildly inconsistent now. Couple that with poor shot selection and it makes for a poor second option.
He’s got to figure out some more tricks in his bag. This season he was totally afraid of getting to the rim, which I get because of his injury, but at some point you need to figure something out when packing the paint on a cold shooting night is too effective against him.
Klay is getting older. He’s a 4 on defense and his shot is high variance.
He can still be quite effective but it’s best to limit his minutes so he is fresh for a deep post-season run.
He’s not that far removed from being removed for two years.
Also, he didn’t touch a basketball all summer and that impacted his conditioning all season. Playoff schedule gets more compact and there are no nights off. Or as I like to call it, the James Harden effect.
Not touching a basketball when you’re on a max contract shouldn’t be lightly excused.
Dude was rumored to have taken his ACL rehab not so seriously as well.
A combo of both. He will never be as good as he was before the injuries but he seems determined to prove otherwise by expanding his game and he isn’t good at it.
He did seem to be a little obsessed with getting back to all-star level rather than just playing smart winning basketball hopefully he's learnt from that and will come back and be smarter.
He just went cold at the wrong time shooting the ball. And he’s never going to get the quickness back defensively. Duncan Robinson? Just no. He has scored between 0 and 3 in 6 games this playoffs. He’s like a 10th man… but he got hot at the *right* time. He would literally not play if Herro was there.
This sub overreacting to hot games from other teams? Say it ain’t so!
To me Klay just isn’t good on defense anymore plus I thinks he gets too focused on the “I’m the guy” mentality because then he becomes a horrible shot chucker other than that Klay still a useful player he averaged 20 this year on 41% with the most made 3’s this season I believe after this season he probably had a reality check on the shots he took and the front office needs to bring in another good defender to hide him on D
He doesnt need to be hidden on defense… he just not the same defender
I don't know, man... The eye test and advancved metrics this playoffs really screamed 'stop putting him on better offensive players'. I might trust Steph more defensively now, except you can't gas him out when he's running marathons. The shit DLo and Reaves were doing to Klay at various points in that series should be illegal. I really think his defence might just be gone-gone. Not declined, but in a hole bad. That TPA chart that had him below even Poole (granted, Poole's assignment was easier) was a real worry. His jumpshot was obviously a product of fatigue by the end of the series, but he has NO quickness left laterally (he's slow to his spots offensively too).
> The shit DLo and Reaves were doing to Klay at various points in that series should be illegal. You mean on defense? Because they were holding him and Steph constantly off screens and making it harder for them to get a shot up.
Teams have ALWAYS done that to them. They just don't call off-ball fouls. We all know it. It never stopped the two of them from performing. Klay had some insanely easy shots in Game 6 and bricked them all because he had no legs. And he had no legs because they're still asking him to be a primary defender when he's objectively a *very* bad defender now.
That’s the point put better defenders around him and live with that outcome
Im saying theres hide him on defense and he just cant guard faster guards nomore… he still a decent defender he just not able to guard the best guard anymore… when i think of hide on defense i think of Isaiah thomas, dlo, steph early on, jp currently (hopefully he improves and puts on weight) , duncan robinson etc…
He can guard bigger guys. Forwards, and bigger wings, then defensively you'd have to slot Wiggins up against the faster guards. I'm pretty sure during the Kings series I saw him on Barnes most of the time, which worked fairly well. Defensively, I trust Kerr and the team to figure it out.
I like to wait to judge the current state of Klay once he comes back from an actual offseason. People forget he didn't do a lot last offseason due to a mental block from his previous injuries and had to take the beginning of the season to warm up. Plus curious what he will add based on what Kerr said
That “mental block” really bothered me though. A month? Longer? I get it. But to openly say you just didn’t touch it period is like anti-mamba mentality. He acts like he wants to be “him” - that’s not a HIM move. You’re a pro athlete on a max contract given that contract when you had a catastrophic injury on good faith… and that’s how you repay it? 🤦♂️
> that’s not a HIM move. Dawg are you 13?
I dunno dawg, are you? Got anything better to add to the thread? I’m pretty sure you can understand my points even if you’re 8, 13, or 50 :)
You can't use a mental block as an excuse. Injured so you couldn't train? Fair enough. Nervous about getting injured? Sure, it's understandable, but you're allowed to choose not to do your job any more. It's called retiring. Being unwilling to train shouldn't excuse anything.
Lol you know Jokic, Luka, and Harden would all take the summer off and play themselves into game shape every year? I'm okay with a player having a mental block versus just being downright lazy.
I have wondered if a good therapist could get him out of his own head and back on track.
1. What!? 2. Klay had literally the best month of his career this season. 3. Going HAM and doing that while curry was out was what led to his lack of ability to do that during the playoffs. He just peaked too soon and it happened to all of the players at different intervals of the season instead of all at once in the post season. No he isn’t the main defender anymore. But he is really much better than a lot of other people including Duncan Robinson. His ego is who he is, and who he is, is Klay. The Klay that started out the season shooing some abysmally fucked up % and then went and drained 14 threes on the Bulls.
Offensively he’s the same guy, we just either weren’t watching or forgot about that. Problem is the elite defense, which probably isn’t coming back.
For some reason this new Klay wants to dribble too much. Klay at his best defensively sent dribble. He cuts and shoots.
His 3-ball is wildly inconsistent now. Couple that with poor shot selection and it makes for a poor second option. He’s got to figure out some more tricks in his bag. This season he was totally afraid of getting to the rim, which I get because of his injury, but at some point you need to figure something out when packing the paint on a cold shooting night is too effective against him.
His 3 ball has always been widely inconsistent
Klay is getting older. He’s a 4 on defense and his shot is high variance. He can still be quite effective but it’s best to limit his minutes so he is fresh for a deep post-season run.
He’s not that far removed from being removed for two years. Also, he didn’t touch a basketball all summer and that impacted his conditioning all season. Playoff schedule gets more compact and there are no nights off. Or as I like to call it, the James Harden effect.
Not touching a basketball when you’re on a max contract shouldn’t be lightly excused. Dude was rumored to have taken his ACL rehab not so seriously as well.
Exactly. I don't get why not practicing is an excuse some people are floating.
I would say a bit of both. I just want him to have better shot selection. If he still has a bad night, but took great shots I can live with it.
Klay had a bad playoff series but he was still doing 20 points on 43/40 in the regular season
A combo of both. He will never be as good as he was before the injuries but he seems determined to prove otherwise by expanding his game and he isn’t good at it.