The Houston Rockets basically forgot they had to cover Klay Thompson in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday, and even Thompson seemed surprised he got so many easy looks en route to a 119-106 win.
Of the six 3-pointers Thompson knocked down, four were completely uncontested. This will give you an idea of just how open the sharpshooter was at times:
Four of Klay Thompson's six made 3s were wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open. Shocking there'd be THAT many breakdowns against THIS guy in the West Finals. pic.twitter.com/ai26dpmwKg
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 15, 2018
Thompson ended up with 28 points. When he was asked about Houston’s defensive approach, he admitted he can’t remember many games in which he was left all alone that often.
Can Klay Thompson remember a game he found himself that open that many times from 3? "In the playoffs, not too many" pic.twitter.com/VH8vAf3k3Y
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 15, 2018
“In the playoffs, not too many,” he said.
Given the way his team played defensively, you can understand why Mike D’Antoni cracked a joke about what James Harden is going to have to do in Game 2. The Warriors put a ton of stress on defenses by having so many outstanding shooters, but there’s no excuse for leaving the same player wide open that many times. Houston needs to do a much better job going forward, or the Western Conference Finals will be a disappointment.
