Although they have similar stats, they get their numbers in very different ways. Klay Thompson is very inconsistent. He will look like an all-timer one night and look like just another guy the next night. Eric Gordon is more of a Steady Eddie. You can pretty much count on him to do what he does on a nightly basis. Obviously, the guy that has crazy good games will get more attention from national media than the guy that comes out and delivers the same performance every night.
Umm did you guys see Klay in last year's playoffs? He clearly was their best player throughout the entire post season. Give me Klay all day over Gordon it's not even close.
What are you talking about, he sucked ass in WCF and in the Finals (Shooting 41% and 43% each, that's below average for him.) Klay has this weird thing where he explodes for one game and people drool all over him, even though if you actually do the research, he's extremely inconsistent and disappears in games just as much as he shows up. Draymond had higher WS and WS/48 than Klay in last year's playoffs, and was the best player for the Warriors in the Finals. Hence Draymond was their best player.
This season it is very, very close. Klay is a bit bigger and more durable, but Gordon has him off the dribble. Crossing my fingers for 4 seasons of perfect health for EG.
Klay is a better pure shooter and moves around without the ball better. Klay's length gives him an advantage defensively compared to Gordon, making him a more versatile defender. Klay is no doubt a special player but he greatly benefits from the Warriors motion offense. At 6'7 with the ability to move without the ball and being one of the most gifted shooters to ever play the game, makes Klay a much more dangerous player than Gordon. The Warriors provide multiple screens, multiple play makers, constant movement in a motion offense (rhythm and flow), and multiple shooters including possibly the best shooter of all time, makes it much difficult to cover Klay. As individual talents, Gordon is more superior. I think Gordon can create his own shots and also create for others better than Klay. They both are elite shooters but Klay has the edge and given his height, defenders does not bother his shot as much. The media constantly finds a way to diminish Harden's greatness because they blame D'Antoni's system as an offense that inflates the player's value. But they also failed to realized the Warriors have been running the same type of offense and their players greatly benefitted from it. Both players are incapable of leading a team themselves but they possess the unique skills to thrive in motion type offenses. The Warriors offense turned Klay into an All Star and even been placed him in the discussion of best SG. Klay is also incredibly fortunate in not having to deal with any major injuries. He enjoyed a healthy injury-free career while Gordon was dealt with many season ending injuries that really prevented him from reaching his full potential. When Eric Gordon entered the league, he was projected to be an all star and one of the top SG in the league. A combo-guard who can run the point or play off the ball as a scoring guard, he is an exceptional talent with significant potential. Overall, both players are incredibly talented and highly skilled that can compliment perfectly next to any star players. Both players will thrive best in a motion style offense but are incapable of generating their own offense. Defensively, both players does not possess much lateral quickness to make them elite defenders, but Klay's 6'7 length gives him more of an advantage and more versatility as a defender than Gordon, making him a bit more valuable overall.
Actually Eric Gordon is a much better shot creator for himself and others more so than Klay. Finishing at the rim can go either way but Gordon has always been a better overall scorer. Klay Thompson thrives on moving without the ball, constantly moving and waiting until defenders fall asleep while he gets open, and having multiple screens set while players like Green, Curry or Iguodala make an assist to him.
You clearly watched the playoffs on paper, and not the game. Yes, "those" one game explosions people drool over because guess what....that game 6 explosion in the WCF basically got them Durant and into the Finals. It's a fat tails approach, and at the end of games Klay is absolutely clutch. He bailed out GSW so much, and if anything, Draymond COST them the finals. And should've cost them the WCF. Curry was pathetic for a MVP. He's defined as inconsistent in whatever metric you "research" because he has these extreme outliers(37 pt quarters, 60 pt games), etc. He's a streaky player, but as a two-way player he's excellent. He plays 30-35mpg on the other team's best wing, a 20ppg scorer, and arguably the best shooter in the game with his teammate. With that said, I take Klay over Eric Jordan 10 out of 10 times. Though, I love Eric Jordan here. He's been great, absolutely great.
Wow 30 games into the season and people are proclaiming Gordon > Klay. Ego has been hot but good lord I'll give up Gordon for Klay in a heartbeat
I've watched every single game of last year's GSW playoffs and Klay was extremely inconsistent in the WCF and the Finals. Playing few good games here and there while getting torched by the opposing guards - Kyrie, Russ and Lillard all put up better numbers against his defense than they did in previous rounds - doesn't qualify you as an 'excellent two-way player'. In case you're not aware, Klay shot below 40% against OKC in games 2, 5, and 7 of WCF. That's already 3 games out of 7, and I didn't even include games where he barely exceeded 40%, which is still pretty bad, especially by his standards. The same goes for the Finals : Klay shot under 40% in games 1, 3 and 7 - not including games like where he shot 41%. So, you could easily make the case that Klay shot very poorly in HALF of the games during WCF and the Finals, while Westbrook and Kyrie were scoring from all over the court despite his 'elite defense.' Also, Klay's TS in the WCF was 54.5% as opposed to Curry's 61.2%. In the Finals, Klay's TS was 56% vs. Draymond's 61.8%. So excuse me if I don't consider that an excellent performance. If Klay showed up in every 2 out of 3 games instead of just half, both series wouldn't have needed to go to game 7 in the first place, so how does exploding in game 6 make you an hero? How did you play in games 1 through 5 to even get to that point? On a side note, Draymond is clearly the superior player of the two and it's not even close honestly. Give me a legitimate DPOY candidate over an extremely inconsistent, streaky shooter with vastly overrated defense any day of the week.
Literally, that's all just bullcrap. You did not watch all the games, I'm willing to bet that. And secondly, looking at raw stats like that just shows you have a tunnel vision. If you watched the games, you'd know the Warriors don't get to the WCF without Klay because of the ailing Curry. He had the assignment of Harden, Damian, Westbrook, and Kyrie. 2 are top 5 players, 2 are top 15 players of course they are going to be great. Honestly, his defense was excellent not much more you can do. And if you understand political dynamics, you know Draymond cost them the ring.
Kicked a guy in the balls, didn't get suspended. Hit Lebron, got suspended, cost them the finals. I do not know if I am really trying to pose an arguement of Dray vs. Klay. If you think Dray is better, more valuable, or more important that's fair to argue. It's without a doubt though that Klay is better than Eric. And honestly, I'm loving Eric here.
Klay and Gordon are 2 completely different players. Klay is great on spot up shooting and gets fed the ball. Gordon can play make and create for him and others when need to. Meanwhile both are great shooters which is the only thing they really have in common. Both are playing great and if we switch players, Gordon can equal what Klay provides for GSW, while Klay if he's coming off the bench and having to create for others, I'm not sure if he would be nearly as effective as Gordon. However Klay would be deadly while playing with Harden.
Gordon has been flat out better than Klay this season. PER : Gordon 16.4 > Klay 16.3 TS% : Gordon 60.4 > Klay 58.5 WS : Gordon 2.4 > Klay 2.1 WS/48 : Gordon .133 > Klay .108 BPM : Gordon 0.6 > Klay -1.1 RPM : Gordon 0.86 > Klay -0.12 VORP : Gordon 0.6 > Klay 0.2 3PT Made : Gordon 104 > Klay 81 3PT% : Gordon 44.1% > Klay 37.2%
