Klay, the Warriors' four-time champion, has been sluggish this season, although it was once rumored that he may be traded by the Warriors, but after the Warriors still did not make any moves at the trade limit, today the Warriors visited the Jazz, and head coach Kerr made lineup adjustments, allowing Klay to start from the bench instead, interrupting his 727-game starting streak, which is his second time as a bench player after 4,358 days. The last time Klay played off the bench was on March 12, 2012, when he was a rookie player.
And the change of role also seems to have brought a lot of excitement to Klay, who scored a season-high 35 points, six rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes today, helping the Warriors win the key battle of the playoff standings 140-137, winning the eighth game in the last 10 games, and slightly stretching the difference between the two sides to 25 games.
Clay played in 49 games this season, averaging 17 points per game and shooting 36 from three-point range8%, both of which are at least the lowest in the past 10 years. Klay recently mentioned in an interview that he would like to lower his role and stay with the Warriors for the rest of his life, "I put a lot of effort into it, just to be able to play basketball again." I've changed the point a little bit, and it's no longer just to be who I used to be, or to be an All-Star. ”
The Warriors have often dropped Klay at crunch times lately. Yesterday the Warriors faced the Clippers, only 4 of 14 shots, in a sluggish state, when he trailed by 3 points in the last 39 seconds, he fouled the opponent early to make free throws, head coach Kerr immediately collapsed and hugged his head, and admitted after the game that the foul was not planned, so Klay was once again criticized by many fans, and his starting position was replaced by rookie Podzemski.
However, it seemed humiliating to start from the bench, but it allowed Klay to completely unleash his scoring firepower, shooting 13 of 22 from the field, including 7 three-pointers, reaching the career milestone of 15,000 points, and also the sixth person in team history.
Talking about his role change, Clay also bluntly said, "You can do two things, you can be angry because of it, and you can also respond." I think today I chose the latter and did a pretty good job. Clay acknowledged that playing off the bench is mentally building up and that this is a completely new area for him, and he also mentioned Ginobili, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, "Throughout the game, when I was on the court with the second team, I realized that I could be the focal point of the attack, which is an interesting role and I want to prove it to the coach." I think of Ginobili, the guy who has 4 championship rings and an Olympic gold medal and has been off the bench almost throughout his career, and I don't think anyone looks down on his Hall of Fame achievements because he's a great player. ”
Rookie Podzemski, who started in place of Klay, also praised his seniors, "He's one of the best veterans around me, we all know he can compare to the best shooters, he and Curry are two of the best shooters of all time, and in the bench, he can make as many shots as possible, and he was amazing tonight." ”
Speaking about Klay's performance, head coach Kerr said: "I didn't expect him to be thrilled with it, but as I said, he's a phenomenal contender, I've seen him win titles, I've seen him score key goals, he's the toughest player in the league to defend, he's a champion player without a question. ”
Kerr also stressed that it will not be ruled out that it will not be ruled out that Klay will continue to start from the bench, but it will not be permanent, "I like the lineup of Podzemski and the other four players, Klay has given us a lot of firepower off the bench, we will continue to see how it develops during this time, he can really bring some firepower to our bench when he plays as a substitute." ”
It is worth mentioning that this victory was also the 500th win of Kerr's 764 games in charge, becoming the fifth manager in history to reach this milestone. The top 4 were "Zen Master" Phil Jackson's 682 games, Pat Riley's 684 games, and Kc.Jones' 731 and Popovich's 745. Kerr became the second head coach in Warriors history to reach 500 wins, behind only Alvin Atlantes' 557 wins, and he could break that record if Kerr stays in the Bay Area.
Kerr officially took over the Warriors in the 2014-2015 season, and immediately started a prosperous dynasty of four championships in eight years, including six finals, 73 wins in a single season, and a high coaching win rate of 654% and so on, becoming one of the most successful teams in league history. When he learned that Kerr had reached the 500-win milestone, Popovich immediately offered his blessings.