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Saturday night featured a heavyweight matchup between two of the best teams in the NBA — the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. Needless to say, point guard Kyrie Irving enjoyed another stellar evening at the Oracle Arena despite being guarded by a bevy of defenders led by Klay Thompson.
Thompson was the most notable among those who covered the Celtics point guard after Irving gave credit to the Warriors shooting guard for his tenacious defense. This may be the reason why he was a bit distraught upon learning for the first time that Thompson still has yet to make an NBA All-Defensive team, according to Jay King of masslive.com:
Kyrie Irving on Klay Thompson: “I’d like to see him on a few more defensive teams. Has he made one?”
Reporter: “No.”
Kyrie: “That's some bullshit”
While Irving's comments may be a bit blunt, they are true nonetheless. Thompson has been regarded as one of the best two-way players in the league for some time now. Not only is he usually tasked with guarding the opposing team's best scorer, but he is also expected to produce on the offensive end as well. However, it seems his defensive prowess has largely gone unnoticed on a team like the Warriors that is chalk-full of elite defenders.
Irving has had his fair share of battles in years past with Thompson during the former's days with the Cleveland Cavaliers. This time was no different as the Warriors' sharpshooter did what he can to help slow down Irving. Although the Celtics star managed to finish with 37 points, the Warriors ultimately escaped with the win thanks to their defense and some hot shooting from Stephen Curry.
