The Golden State Warriors, entering Game 6 on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers, remained on the backfoot. However, there was no one in the world who would dare count them out, given the presences of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and their collective playoff pedigree. Thompson, in particular, has shown in the past that he is able to breathe new life into a reeling Warriors team by showing up at the most crucial moments.

But in Game 6 against the Lakers, it simply was not meant to be for the Warriors sharpshooter.

Klay Thompson struggled in the first quarter, missing his first three shots en route to a three-point quarter on a putrid 1-8 shooting display from the field. Thompson simply did not have the touch, and most of his shots went short. In the end, Thompson's Game 6 alter ego did not show up, as he ended the Warriors' 122-101 blowout defeat with a disastrous 3-19 shooting performance for a measly eight-point night.

As instrumental as Thompson has been to the Warriors' impressive run over the past decade, this does not make him immune to some harsh, if justified, criticisms. Fans on Twitter were not kind at all to the struggling sharpshooter, as of all the games to put up one of the worst efforts of his career, it came during a contest where the Dubs' season was on the line.

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The Warriors had already trimmed the deficit to 11 points in the fourth quarter, and with the talent on the roster, they definitely had the capacity to mount a rousing comeback. Alas, Klay Thompson proceeded to clank some shots that would have evoked some sense of dread in the Lakers regarding a potential choke job.

Head coach Steve Kerr may have believed that Klay Thompson was due for an explosion, but it may not come until the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Given the Warriors' clogged cap sheet, it's not even clear whether Thompson would still be playing for the Dubs next season. The Warriors will be entering the offseason with plenty of pivotal decisions to make, especially with Jordan Poole's max extension set to kick in.