Golden State Warriors NBA Playoffs: Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry by the Numbers 1st Round

May 2, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) high fives shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) after the play against the Denver Nuggets during the second quarter of game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors produced the most prolific three point shooting duo ever this season and unfortunately for Denver in round 1 of the NBA Playoffs, it was no different. We’re not going to focus on Denver at all, except to see what Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson did to them over the course of the opening series. Folks, it was pretty stuff, for the most part, but not their best. A couple of these numbers, the Warriors don’t want to see against the Spurs in Round 2.

39

The average game point total between Curry and Thompson. Who would’ve thought they could score so little against the three-seed Nuggets and walk out with a 4-2 series win? Jarrett Jack picked up the extra slack, scoring nearly 19 a night in the series. Harrison Barnes played big minutes too, pouring in a tenth of a point more than Thompson’s 14.7, which is to say he scored one point more over the course of the 6 games.

2

Number of losses in the series, also the number of really bad games for Klay, who never really got on track in the series. Game 1 was Klay in foul trouble for the entirety of the second half, forcing him to sit more than the Warriors could afford in a (you guessed it) 2 point loss. He was hot in that game too, 22 points (which was a team high), but the team missed him in the second half and it cost GS game 1. Game 3 Klay did everything but lose the game, scoring 6 points.

5.5

Turnovers per game between the two. Against the Spurs Curry and Thompson need to be more secure than that.

40.4

Average minutes the duo is on the floor. With the early series concerns for Curry’s ankle, it’s something to keep an eye on. One wouldn’t think the Warriors could win a game against the Spurs without him.

46+

These two are shooting very close to 50% in the Playoffs at this point. While we’re only a series into it, 6 games at 46%+ is substantial, when you consider Curry shot it 109 times and Thompson 80. If they keep that up, they’ll be tough to beat moving forward.

Play of the Series

While Curry produced many great moments from everywhere on the floor, including a sick lefty scoop in Game 3 that brought me out of my chair, it’s hard to argue that Klay Thompson’s sweet behind the back bounce pass to Andrew Bogut didn’t start the play of the series. Bogut caught the ball at the top of the key, took a power dribble and took off. The Nuggets’ JaVale McGee tried to challenge him, but instead became a part of the discussion for Warriors Poster of the Year.