klay thompson vs ray allen (Photo: UPI/Terry Schmitt)
Golden State Warriors mercurial shooter, Klay Thompson, has been the subject of debate all season. His ball-handling, ability to get to the basket and passing have still left much to be desired at times.
However, the continual theme among Warrior fans has been the topic of his inconsistent shooting.
At times he’s looked like an All-Star, shooting lights-out and with defenses continually unable to locate him, while at other times he’s looked lost in the shuffle, unable to hit a shot, head slunk and at a loss for confidence.
The debate hasn’t been about his ability to shoot, it’s been the inconsistency of it.
As evident in the above chart, Thompson’s shooting has ranged from All-Star level efficiency in November to below par from the field in January.
On any given night, the common question asked has been, “Which Thompson will show up?”, the player who shoots 9-for-14 from beyond the arc for 26 points against the Washington Wizards, or the players who shoots 6-for-18 from the field for 15 points two nights later against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Even with the inconsistency, Thompson has never shot below 40% from 3-point range in any NBA season, which has earned him praise locally and nationally.
In his rookie season, coach Mark Jackson said, “The similarities, especially with Ray (Allen) and Reggie (Miller), are obvious. He’s a knockdown shooter with great range and very active moving without the basketball. That’s why he forces you to play him more and more.”
Fair or not, Thompson’s shooting is often judged in comparison to the greatest off-ball shooters of all time. The reasoning makes sense: he has textbook form, an innate ability to move off of screens and get open, a quick release and the overall percentages from deep.
Perhaps the best player to use as a benchmark for comparison is Allen from his 2007-08 championship season with the Boston Celtics. While Allen was older at the time (32), his role was similar.
Allen would be used off ball, running off screens, spotting up and constantly providing an outlet to the offense the same way Thompson is for this current Warriors team.
Allen averaged 17.4 points per game while shooting 44.5% from the field, 39.8% on three-pointers, with a true shooting percentage of 58.5%.
This season, Thompson is averaging 18.3 points per game while shooting 43.2%, 40.9% on three-pointers, with a true shooting percentage of 54.5%.
Allen was the 3rd scoring option on the Celtics, behind Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, similar to Thompson, who is behind Stephen Curry and David Lee.
Both Allen and Thompson’s usage rate — the estimated percentage of plays used through the player while he’s on the floor — are identical: 21.6%
Allen’s 2007-08 season also saw deviations with peaks and valleys, much like Thompson’s. The first three months of 2008 saw Allen’s three-point percentage go from 34.9% to 46.4% to 39.4%.
In the graphs showing Thompson (blue) and Allen (red)’s true shooting percentage game-to-game during the 2013-14 and 2007-08 seasons, each dot represents the following game and the subsequent TS% for it.
Both players’ efficiencies jump from game to game. Like all players reliant on a jump shot as their chief means of scoring, even those destined for the Hall Of Fame and who won a championship during the prime of their careers, consistency can vary from game to game.
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