Draymond Green’s wife Hazel Renee unsurprisingly keeps track of Golden State Warriors games. She must have unquestionably noticed in mid-February when Warriors coach Steve Kerr benched Klay Thompson for the first time since 2012. Before that, “Game 6 Klay” has started every game since his sophomore season in the NBA.
Kerr made the controversial decision when the Warriors were struggling. Green was serving an indefinite suspension while Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins couldn’t co-exist well together in the first unit. The rookie Brandin Podziemski stepped up to provide a bit of balance and help with the dirty work.
Podziemski’s emergence and Klay Thompson’s struggles forced Steve Kerr’s hand. He asked the other half of the famous “Splash Bros.” to give up his spot for the former Santa Clara standout in the first five.
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On Tuesday night against the Miami Heat, Kerr inserted Thompson back into his customary spot alongside Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Hazel Renee, after the Warriors’ dominant win over the short-handed Heat, seemingly took a shot at the Dubs’ coach on Instagram with a story:
“Thank God! Back to the regularly scheduled lineu–I mean program. Great win for y’all tonight.”
The message continued with a heart emoji for Draymond Green before it was capped off with a message for Thompson:
“Go off @klaythompson”
Steve Kerr also started Thompson on Mar. 14 against the Dallas Mavericks. Green’s wife, Hazel Renee probably did not make too much of a fuss as the Dubs lost 109-99.
“Killa Klay” also struggled in that game, needing 13 shots to tally an abysmal eight-point output. He went 2-for-7 in trifectas and got abused by Luka Doncic on defense.
Against the Miami Heat, Klay Thompson was back to vintage form, which made his appearance in the starting unit more noticeable. He took up the scoring cudgels as Steph Curry and his teammates struggled to score from behind the arc.
Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Chris Paul combined to hit 4-for-9 from rainbow distance. Thompson carried the slack with a 6-for-14 clip from behind the arc.
Klay Thompson’s spot in the starting lineup alongside Draymond Green and Steph Curry is not permanent
Despite Klay Thompson’s big night, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr remains non-committal about making the shooting guard a regular member of the first five. He has vowed to retain flexibility with his rotations.
Kerr said about Thompson’s place alongside Steph Curry and Draymond Green in the starting unit:
When Steve Kerr moved Klay Thompson to the bench, he said that it wasn’t permanent.
He added that Brandin Podziemski’s play glued everything that the Warriors needed to do on both sides of the ball. With the rookie struggling a bit over the last few weeks, re-inserting Thompson was a good adjustment.
Draymond Green’s wife Hazel Renee will continue to monitor the situation. She could be wrong when she quickly assumed that Kerr would return to the Warriors’ tried and tested starting five.
