Thompson: Should the Warriors take better shots or should we mortals just trust them?

SACRAMENTO — Klay Thompson seemed agitated.

He was in good spirits talking about the atmosphere of Game 1, even referencing a “Saturday Night Live” skit about cowbells. He raved about Harrison Barnes and Mike Brown. Even offered his support for E-40. He was fine until the topic turned to the Warriors’ shot selection. Suddenly, his stare hardened and his smile disappeared, his words had a bit more bite. Perhaps he could hear the accusation disguised in query. Or maybe he’s just tired of having to explain his particular genius and how it manifests.

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He did his interview before a throng of media on Sunday in a hotel ballroom while wearing a white towel as a skirt, black-and-white Anta slides and a blue t-shirt representing the Garment District of New York City. And no one blinked.

Because he’s Klay Thompson — one of the all-time great shooters and a proven playoff producer. How dare mere mortals question the shot selection of shooting deities?

“It’s hard to hear from those who don’t play what a great shot is,” Thompson said, rubbing his neck while staring down, smiling as if he was proud of his burn. “But, you know, we’re just going to do what we do. Alright? We’re going to take tough shots. We’re going to make tough shots. Been doing it for 10 years and I’m not going to get discouraged after one bad shooting night. Like, freaking-A, been doing this for a long time.”

Ohhhh. Thompson’s had enough.

He not only vocalized the ethos of the Warriors this season, but this season’s 3-point champ seems done apologizing for it — even after it seemed to cost them Game 1.

One might’ve guessed since it’s the playoffs, the Warriors would push away the from Behind-The-Arc Buffet. But why “take what the defense gives you” when you can take what you want, right?

For just the second time in the Steve Kerr era, the Warriors took 50 3s in a playoff game.

They didn’t start out that way. They were just 10 of 31 through three quarters and were torching the Kings inside the arc: 23-for-35 (65.7 percent). The Kings were inviting the Warriors inside — with their scheme that pressed out way past the 3-point line, pulling Domantas Sabonis out of drop coverage, and with their 27th-ranked paint defense. But in the fourth quarter, the defending champs, known for their ball movement and motion offense, for playing a beautiful game, spurned Sacramento’s invitation and spammed their greatest weapon. The Warriors had 25 possessions in the final 12 minutes and took 24 shots — and 19 of them were threes.

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The Warriors lost by three points, lost the fourth by two. They made 4 of 5 inside the arc, and all seven free throws in the final quarter. But they went 6 of 19 from 3.

Seems like an easy place to look for the issue, especially since the Kings scored more while taking just six 3s.

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But in the minds of the Warriors, especially Thompson, if they make a few more they win. Perhaps if Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole make one of the six they took combined. Or if Steph Curry makes 5 of 6 instead of just three. Or if Thompson makes all four of his, including the two contested off-the-dribble 3s he took.

His point, buried in his indignation, is to trust them to make them. This is what they do. This is who they’ve always been.

“Every time I shoot the ball it feels great,” Thompson said. “And I will never have a mindset other than that.”

Thompson shook his head as the next question fired his way. Mortals are irritating.

Is Thompson onto something, though? The Warriors just had one of the greatest 3-point shooting seasons ever. It was the best combination of volume and efficiency ever.

They made more 3s than any team in NBA history with 1,363. That was 40 makes more than the previous record, set by the 2018-19 Rockets. And the Warriors did it in 181 fewer attempts.

The Warriors took the second-most 3s ever in a season: 3,540. And they shot 38.5 percent — the best of any team in history that took more than 3,200 3s in a season. The Warriors had four players shoot 39 percent or better on at least five attempts per game.

In 2015-16, the Warriors blitzed the NBA with 73 wins. They made a ridiculous 41.6 percent of their 2,592 3-pointers. It’s the second-highest percentage ever, and the only team higher — the 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets — had 1,210 fewer attempts.

In 2016-17, Houston took 3,306 attempts from behind the arc. The next year, they upped it to 3,470. The year after that, 3,721, still the most attempts ever. Starting with those Rockets, 28 teams have taken at least 3,000 threes in a season. The Warriors just shot it better than all but one of those teams — the 2020-21 Jazz, who shot 38.9 percent. But they only shot .004 percent better despite taking nearly 500 fewer than the Warriors did this season.

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So the Splash Brothers were responsible for sparking the voluminous era of 3s and are the best at the highest volumes. Maybe they do do this and it’s OK to shift the expectation of what’s acceptable in the playoffs?

“We took some bad ones,” Kerr said, “but I didn’t think shot selection was the problem. You know, we’re always going to be aggressive and sometimes we’re going to take some quick ones. That’s part of who we are. And that’s OK. We’ve got great shooters and I trust those guys.“

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It’s a safe guess that’s all Thompson wants is to be trusted.

But, on behalf of mere mortals, this is still a new phenomenon. This isn’t for the Warriors who won championships in the past. We may not know what a great shot is, but we know the resume of the Warriors has never involved taking 19 3s in a quarter.

The most they’ve ever taken in a fourth quarter in the playoffs: 15. They went 7-for-15 at Houston in 2015.

We’re so used to the Warriors using the entire court. Yeah, they make 3s. But they also carve up defenses. And when they have a vulnerable defense in front of them, they take advantage.

The Kings are there for the slicing. They’re playing a box-and-one on Curry, leaving the four in a zone. Cuts are working. Determined drives pay dividends. Maybe the Warriors get back to it for Game 2.

Or maybe, they simply make more 3s. Like they normally do. And then shot selection won’t be the topic of conversation. And Thompson won’t have to explain why he took shots that didn’t go in.

The last time the Warriors took 50 3s in a game came against Memphis last playoffs. It was in Game 6, one of their most critical performances during this championship era, that signaled they were still a behemoth to overcome.

They made 20 that night, including some huge ones in the fourth quarter. And nobody was talking about shot selection, but the greatness of the ones who were taking them.

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Maybe we mortals need to just trust them. Or maybe, the Warriors should just take what the defense is giving them.

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(Photo of Klay Thompson: Loren Elliott / Getty Images)