Sunday NBA Playoffs: Klay Thompson Showing Alpha-Dog Swagger Without Steph Curry

Beating the Houston Rockets without Stephen Curry was one thing. While James Harden and Dwight Howard refused to coalesce and the entire team displayed a stunning lack of chemistry, the Golden State Warriors had no trouble slaughtering their overmatched opponent and advancing out of the first round. 

The Portland Trail Blazers were supposed to be a bigger challenge. Instead, they found themselves the victims of a massive first-quarter deficit and eventually wound up on the wrong end of a 118-106 final margin. 

From the opening tip, it was Klay Thompson taking over and proving he could be a potent alpha dog in Curry’s absence.

In the first 12 minutes alone, the shooting guard exploded for 18 points, two rebounds and an assist on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and a 4-of-7 performance from beyond the arc. He alone managed to outscore Rip City, which could only muster up 17 points during the first quarter.

Would be fun to see how many points per game Klay Thompson could average in a full season if Stephen Curry took a break to play baseball.

— RealGM (@RealGM) May 1, 2016

We’ve known for a while that Thompson could catch fire. Arguably even more so than Curry, he possesses that tantalizing microwave gene, and he can rise and fire over virtually any defender when he begins heating up. Shots like these don’t usually look so effortless for anyone not named Curry or Thompson: 

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Thompson wound up recording 37 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals by the time the final buzzer sounded, but he was by no means the only standout on the terrifyingly deep Golden State roster. 

Draymond Green went for a triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa helped provide the second unit with some offensive stability. Andrew Bogut protected the rim with aplomb and even got involved on the scoring end with some close-range touch. Harrison Barnes served as a steady two-way force. 

Everyone helped, and that’s exactly how the Warriors are overcoming the presumptive two-time MVP’s absence.

It’s Thompson and Co. on offense, but the defense in particular has been as suffocating as possible.

Curry is not a bad defender—if you still hold onto the antiquated notion that he’s a liability, you can enlighten yourself with this video—but Shaun Livingston has been even better in his place. The length and height of the backup point guard allows Golden State to switch on even more screens, and that helped the defending champions handle Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum with relative ease. 

During the regular season, the Portland backcourt combined to average 45.9 points per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from beyond the arc. While knocking off the injury-riddled Los Angeles Clippers, the duo produced 41.7 points per contest with a …

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