OAKLAND -- Klay Thompson spent nearly eight minutes Saturday answering a variety of questions, many of which were related to his diminished offense this postseason and his primary defensive assignment in the upcoming NBA Finals.
Mired in a shooting slump, by his standards, the Warriors guard now has to confront the fabulous offensive arsenal of Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving.
As much as Thompson would love to rediscover his shooting touch in Game 1 on Thursday night at Oracle Arena, the Warriors may be more delighted if he can prevent Irving from finding his.
"I take pride in (playing) both sides of the ball, defense as equally as offense," Thompson said after practice at the team's downtown facility. "Whether or not my shot falls, I can always control that part of the game."
The Warriors are undefeated (12-0) this postseason despite Thompson averaging only 14.4 points (compared to 22.3 in the regular season) on 38.3-percent shooting from the field (46.8 in the regular season), 36.4 percent beyond the arc (41.4 in the regular season).
That spotless postseason record is, in part, a reflection of Thompson's work on defense. In all three rounds, he has guarded the opponent's most dangerous backcourt player.
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"I couldn't be happier with how he's helped us win games," acting head coach Mike Brown said.
Next up for Thompson is Irving, who has hit game-winning shots in each of the last two times Cleveland has beaten the Warriors, a 3-pointer in Game 7 of the 2015 Finals and a midrange fadeaway jumper last Christmas Day at Quicken Loans Arena.
Irving has played well this postseason but lately has lifted his game to another level. In the five-game Eastern Conference Finals against Boston, Irving averaged 25.8 points per game, while shooting 62.2 percent.
He was particularly dazzling as the Cavs finished off the Celtics in Games 4 and 5, averaging 33.0 points on 64.9-percent shooting.
Irving's recent run prompted Cleveland teammate LeBron James to label him one of the best one-on-one players of all time, a compliment Brown did not argue.
"There are a lot of guys that can shoot the 3, but that's all they can do," he said. "There are a lot of guys that can dribble drive and finish at the rim, but that's all they can do. Here's a guy that can shoot the 3 off the catch-and-shoot, he could shoot the 3 off the dribble. He has medium-game pull-up. He has medium-game floater. And then he can get to the rim. And when he gets to the rim, he can finish in traffic among 7-footers.
"The way he puts English on the ball, how high he gets it off the glass when he needs to, all those things play into a factor of why he is one of the greatest one-on-one players of all time."
Thompson said Irving's offense "easily" belongs in the discussion with the league's best, a group including the likes of MVP candidates Russell Westbrook and James Harden, as well as Thompson's teammate, reigning MVP Stephen Curry.
"He's done it in big moments, so you've got to give him credit," Thompson said of Irving. "Not only have I seen him do it in the pros, but I've seen him do it with the USA Team, too. Kyrie's a very tough guard. We've got a game plan for him, and it'll be fun."
Thompson said he will try to crowd Irving, contest every shot and not be outhustled. Still, he concedes that may not be enough.
There is, however, one other thing Thompson cited that could impact Irving's offensive production. Make him work on defense, something both Warriors guards have the ability to do.
For Thompson, that means finding his stroke.
"I'd like to see the ball go in the basket," he said. "It has, just not as frequently as I want. But that means nothing now. That's in the past. It wouldn't have mattered if I shot lights-out if we didn't finish the job off.
"Now that we're here, it's a clean slate. It's time to go. Can't be worried about a few bad shooting games or the percentages when you went 12-0. You've just got to do what you can and have the intentions to win the game, not to go out there and score a number of points but to just go out there and win the game and make winning plays. That's what I'm focused on."
