Klay Thompson was a late scratch ahead of Tuesday night's game between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chase Center.
Following the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr shed some light on why Klay Thompson was absent against the Thunder.
Via Kendra Andrews of ESPN:
“Kerr says Thompson’s back flared up unexpectedly during their pregame walk-through. Kerr doesn’t think it will keep him out of either remaining game. Tonight was more precautionary, plus they have two days before their next game.”
Apparently, the Warriors are just being very careful with Klay Thompson, especially with the NBA Playoffs rapidly approaching. That being said, the Warriors can't still take their foot off the gas, as they have yet to lock up a guaranteed spot inside the top six of the standings in the Western Conference.
With Klay Thompson sitting out the Thunder game, the Warriors gave Jordan Poole the green light to start. Poole blew up for 30 points on 8-for-19 shooting from the field against the Thunder, perfectly playing the role of a sidekick to Stephen Curry, who paced Golden State with 34 points on 11-for-25 shooting.
The Warriors, who have no home games left on the schedule in the 2022-23 NBA regular season, will make short travel for their next game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday before their date against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Klay Thompson is averaging 21.8 points on 43.3 percent shooting from the floor, 40.7 percent from behind the arc, and 87.7 percent from the free-throw line this season.