By james art MINNEAPOLIS — Klay Thompson led the NBA in field goal attempts last season with the Golden State Warriors and is on pace to do the same with the Dallas Mavericks.
Thompson has fit seamlessly into a Mavericks offense that ranks 15th in the NBA through three games. He leads the NBA in catch-and-shoot attempts with 9.3 per game. He is averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals on 45 percent shooting from beyond the arc (15-of-33).
Just three games in, and despite the small sample size, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd credited Thompson’s early success to the abundance of space created by guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
“He does that,” Kidd said before Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “He understands that if he has to throw the ball up the floor, if he has to pump fake it, but right now he’s getting a lot of clean looks with the catch and shoot. Hopefully over the course of the season — 50 games — and he’s still in the top 5. That means the quarterbacks are doing a great job and he’s getting a lot of space.”
Minnesota coach Chris Finch also addressed Dallas’ offense with Thompson joining a backcourt of Doncic and Irving.
“It’s not about creativity, it’s about choosing what you want to do,” Finch said. “With Dallas, they have an incredible pick-and-roll game. Sure, they have the Kyrie-iso game and now they have the off-ball game. They have become versatile, which is what any team should be. They can switch gears to move on to different things. It’s a different weapon and you just have to try to stay attached to it, which is a full-time job.
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