Klay Thompson met with the media after the Warriors’ 102-86 win over the Pistons. Thompson, in his fifth appearance this season and second at home, delivered his sharpest performance yet with a team-high 21 points.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Klay Thompson is set to play his sixth game Thursday night since making his return when the Warriors face the Indiana Pacers at Chase Center. He'll have a seat on the bench Friday night, though.
That seems to be the plan going forward.
Thompson and Andre Iguodala will suit up against the Pacers, and then sit the next night against the Houston Rockets. On the flip side of that situation, veteran forward Otto Porter Jr. is out Thursday night vs. Indiana. He'll then play against the Rockets.
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Coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors are being as cautious as possible with the three.
"Generally, Andre and Otto won't play back-to-backs," Kerr said Thursday night before tipoff. "It's not a hard and fast rule, but generally speaking, that's going to be the case. If that is the case, they will split the two games."
Thompson scored a season-high 21 points Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons while playing just 25 seconds under his season high as well. This will be the second time he has sat out the second night of a back-to-back for the Warriors since making his season debut on Jan. 9.
Porter's four points against the Pistons were his fewest since he was held scoreless in a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 28. But his 46.0 field goal percentage this season is his best since the 2018-19 season, and the same goes for him shooting 39.7 percent from 3-point range.
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Kerr wants to have either Thompson or Porter's shooting abilities on the floor as much as possible, which is why those two also will split back-to-backs.
"With Klay being back now, the usual rotation will be Klay will play one night and Otto will play the other because of the shooting," Kerr explained. "We like to have enough shooting every night and each one provides us with a lot of perimeter shooting and spacing."
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The Pacers' defense allows the seventh-highest opposing field goal percentage in the NBA, and the eighth-highest opposing percentage on 3-pointers. The Rockets allow their opponents to shoot 46.9 percent from the field, which is even worse than the Pacers, and that makes them the fifth-worst defense at doing so. They also give up the most points (116.5) per game and the sixth-most 3-pointers per game at 13.3.
Look for Kerr to take advantage of both defenses with Klay and OPJ's skills on back-to-back nights in San Francisco.