Subscribe
Follow Us
DALLAS — Klay Thompson made his Dallas Mavericks preseason debut on Thursday night. Thompson's first point came via a free-throw while he connected on a three-pointer for his first made basket. He only played in the first half as the Mavs ease him back into action, as Thomas finished the game with 10 points on 3-9 shooting from the field and 3-5 shooting from beyond the arc. He added three assists.
One element of Thompson's game that has been questioned over the past couple years is his defense. Thompson believes he can still defend at a respectable level and he wants to prove his doubters wrong.
“Well, it's really nice when you have great offensive players like Luka (Doncic) and Kai (Kyrie Irving), you don't feel like you have to shoulder the load as much on that side of the ball,” Thompson said. “I can kind of get back to guarding like I have in the past. I still want to, you know, get rid of that notion that I'm not the same defender as I once was. I truly believe I am. I'm excited to prove people wrong that I can still guard the elite players in this league.
“I thought it (Thursday's game) was a good step in the right direction for me. Just challenging the ball-handler and switching onto whoever. I take great pride in guarding. I'm excited to do whatever it takes to help this team.”
He played well for the most part in his Mavs preseason debut. Thompson admitted he was nervous for the game given all of the hype surrounding his move to Dallas.
“I was nervous for like, four days,” Thompson said. “I haven't been that nervous I don't think since the 2015 Finals Game 1.”
Jason Kidd addresses Klay Thompson's first Mavericks game
The Mavs were defeated by the Utah Jazz 107-102. Dallas is now 0-2 in the preseason. Nevertheless, Mavs fans were happy to see Thompson make his Mavs preseason debut. Of course, his regular season debut when the games start counting will not come until October 24, but Mavericks fans still wanted to see him in action.
Mavs head coach Jason Kidd shared his thoughts on Thompson's play.
“It was good,” Kidd said of Thompson's Mavs preseason debut. “He had some great looks. I thought he did a great job in the 18 minutes that he played. I thought he had some great looks and he got going there behind the arc.”
The pick-and-pop was a trend throughout the game for Thompson. He set a number of screens and proceeded to end up behind the three-point line. So will that be a strategy moving forward for the Mavs?
“I think it's just the guys getting used to playing with Klay… Just understanding that's something he's done his whole career,” Kidd said. “For his movement, I thought his movement was a positive. So I think for a first game it was really good.”
Klay Thompson and the Mavericks will look to earn their first win of the preseason on Monday against the Clippers in Los Angeles.
