Klay Thompson no longer drives a boat to work, which isn’t even first among the adjustments he must make in his 12th season, his first without a view of the East Bay. He left an organization he helped to four titles for one still working on its bona fides. Traded Steph Curry and Draymond Green for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Steve Kerr for Jason Kidd.
The rolling Pacific for rolling plains.
Early returns Thursday at American Airlines Center indicate he’s ready for this sea change at 34, even if it took a while for his teammates to look the same in a 120-109 win over the Spurs.
The Mavs acquired Thompson to fix the lack of long-distance shooting that finally caught up to them in the finals against Boston. He gives them their first playoff-ready lineup going into a season since their one-and-only title. Or at least that’s the hope. His 22-point debut — including 6 of 10 from behind the arc, a team-record for a first-timer — suggests he’ll live up to his end.
Any preseason evidence to the contrary, the man is still an artist with a ball on his fingertips.
“He makes your life easier,” said Luka, who overcame a rough first half in his first game in four months to finish with 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
“You gotta find him,” Luka said.
For his part, Thompson didn’t try to make too much out of everyone’s first game. He was glad to get the newness over with. Appreciated the warm reception.
Marveled at the uniqueness of his new point guard.
“Hopefully,” he said, “we can elevate each other’s games.”
Thompson started next to Luka and Kyrie and was pretty much the only reason they were still in the game early against a group coming off back-to-back 22-win seasons.
His first bucket as a Mav came on a find from Luka, a 19-foot pull-up.
Picture-perfect form, as usual.
He wasn’t guilty of just standing around waiting on the ball, either. Led the team in rebounding in the first half with seven, including three offensive. Not that he didn’t have plenty of opportunities. At one point, the Spurs had made as many field goals (11) as the Mavs on 15 fewer attempts.
Occasionally it looked like the Mavs couldn’t have fixed their shooting if they’d hired both Splash Brothers.
Even at that, when the Mavs finally flipped the game early in the third quarter, Thompson was in the middle of it all. A 3-pointer gave the Mavs the lead, and another a minute later stretched their lead to 5. From that point on, it was just a matter of pedigrees playing out.
Even with Kyrie late in his prime and Luka expected to put up MVP numbers, the Mavs still have room to grow from last year’s finals run. Of course, there are no guarantees they’ll come so close again. But, barring injury, Nico Harrison shouldn’t have to do anything at the deadline this year other than shore up the back of the rotation. Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II led a group effort that held Victor Wembanyama to 17 points and nine rebounds. Jaden Hardy, who posted an extremely efficient 11 points Thursday, could be the instant offense that Tim Hardaway Jr. wasn’t. The lineup is so much deeper, Spencer Dinwiddie, a stalwart on that conference finals run three years ago, played all of three minutes Thursday.
Over the course of an amazing finals run last year, the Mavs occasionally got production from the back end of the lineup. Graded exceptional on a corner 3.
But, when they absolutely, positively had to have a 3, did you feel good about their chances when anyone other than Luka or Kyrie took it?
Me, neither.
Thompson not only gives the Mavs a shooter that opponents have to respect, he still has a little more left in the tank. He may not be the defender he once was, but he copped three steals Thursday. Finished plus-16, second only to Maxi Kleber.
Considering it’s a new season, new team, new life, was Thursday’s game as much as anyone could have expected of Thompson in his debut?
“The bar is high,” Kidd said. “He’s a future Hall of Famer. When we get newcomers, our job is to get their feet settled.
“I think you see his feet are settled.”
Only one game into a schedule they hope lasts through early summer, the Mavs are at least off to a nice start. Thompson predicts it’ll take another 20 or 30 games before they develop real chemistry, but it helps when everyone knows their roles in a culture Kidd and Harrison have built carefully.
“I think we can play a lot better than that,” Luka said. “But it’s our first game together. Gonna take some time to get used to it, which is normal. But I’m really excited for the season.
“Playing with those two guys is fun.”
Not as fun as driving a boat to work, maybe.
Miss those days, Klay?
“Some days, I do,” he said, smiling. “That bay crossing, that was a good time.”
The good news is, is he’ll have time for his boat next summer. With any luck, July at the earliest.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
