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Pablo,

I wanted to share some information about Klay Thompson and how he has performed this year. I do so because on PTI you & Tony were praising how he "closed" against the Jazz.

Klay's performance has been pretty abysmal this year.

Klay has 19 games this year where he has shot 30% or less from 3. In those 19 games, he is 28/139 from 3 (20.1%).

28/139!

That is 111 missed 3s in just 19 games. That is a hell of a lot of easy fastbreak buckets for the opposition. [ONE HUNDRED & ELEVEN]

PivotFade.com let's you look at clutch-time statistics. In clutch-time Klay is shooting 12/44 (27.3%). This includes 8/31 (25.8%) from three. This guy DOES NOT CLOSE WELL!

Against the Jazz, he was 0/4 in the 4th qtr and 0/2 from three. In fact, with about 18 seconds left in the game he had a wide open 3 that would have iced the game, but he did not catch iron (grazed the backboard so, I guess, not an airball). The guy shouldn't be playing in the 4th quarter. Kerr repeatedly puts a crap team on the floor in the 4th when we need defense & rebounding. That is why they have blown lead upon lead upon lead upon lead... Big Leads. They were up 18 going into the 4th against the Jazz and they only won because the Jazz blew an open 3 and John Collins had a brain fart.

Klay should have been on the bench months ago. Brandin Podziemski should be starting. Here are some comparisons of the two's production:

A Selection of Podz' Statistics over his 47 games (1243 min) :[https://pivotfade.com/stretch/player/466/2023-10-30/2024-02-15/2023-24/Regular/stats/totals]

183 Assists

201 Defensive Rebounds

71 Offensive Rebounds

272 Total Rebounds

40 steals

His overall FG Shooting is 46.4% which includes 38.5% from three.

27 drawn charges (NBA Leader over Jalen Brunson's 24)

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By way of contrast, here are Klay's Statistics over his 50 games (1528 min):[https://pivotfade.com/stretch/player/467/2023-10-24/2024-02-15/2023-24/Regular/stats/totals]

112 Assists

151 Defensive Rebounds

25 Offensive Rebounds

176 Total Rebounds

28 steals

His overall FG Shooting is 42.1% which includes 37.3% from three.

As for drawn charges, Klay Thompson has 0 this year. In fact, Klay Thompson has drawn a total of 1 charge during the last 6 NBA seasons that he played.

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Klay rarely gets an offensive rebound. Half of his defensive rebounds come because he lines up on the key for opponent foulshots. He draws no fouls on the opposition. He plays matador defense. He sulks. He is an awful teammate.

Podz, on the other hand is a joy to behold.

Anyway, Klay didn't "CLOSE" the other night. If he can come off the bench and provide scoring, but if he is not hot he needs to be yanked or he will 1/11 the Dubs butts right out of a game.

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