Utah Jazz vs Golden State Warriors: Floor Spacing
Last season, the Utah Jazz were arguably the best three-point shooting team in the NBA. They fired a historic 43 attempts per contest, connecting on 38.9% of those attempts. The former figure didn’t just lead the league; it led the league’s history. Meanwhile, the latter figure landed the Jazzman third in the NBA. Their overall combination of volume and accuracy was the envy of the entire Association.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors were also a solid three-point shooting team, albeit less lethal than the Jazz. They attempted the fourth most threes per contest in the league at 38.7, downing a seventh-best 37.6% of them. That’s a successful three-point shooting season, even if it’s not a successful enough one to contend with the Utah Jazz in a three-point shootout. However, it’s the impending return of Klay Thompson that makes this a subject worth discussing.
Presumably, he’ll fill in for the recently departed Kelly Oubre Jr. in the Warrior’s starting group. Oubre just authored a season where he shot 31.6% on his 5.2 three-point attempts per game. Regardless of which version of Klay Thompson returns from a right Achilles injury this season, it’s safe to say he’ll shoot the 3 with better efficiency than that.
In fact, Thompson’s worst three-point shooting season came in his sophomore, where he shot 40.1% on 6.4 attempts per contest. That’s a solid career three-point shooting season for most NBA players. His return will undeniably raise the Warrior’s three-point shooting back to its former alert status red level.
Still, it’s hard to be comfortably sure it’ll raise it to the same level as the Utah Jazz. After all, they just completed one of the best three-point shooting seasons in NBA history. Thompson may not be his former self, and even if he is, he may not even see the floor until early 2022.
In a best case scenario for the Warriors, Klay returns to his previous form, and the team returns to its prior status as the best shooting team in the National Basketball Association. Since we can’t be certain of that outcome, we can’t award the Warriors a clear advantage over the Utah Jazz here. With that said, it feels too likely to entirely discredit either.