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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 21, 2018

Klay Thompson

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. So much has changed in the last few hours, but given this team is in control of its own destiny and if you stay focused you can do stuff like you did last night. How do you maintain this level of focus going into Game 4 after a blowout win like that?
KLAY THOMPSON: You forget about it, and you play as if you want to win a championship. We do not want to give them home court again, so we've got to exert ourselves tomorrow.

Q. Does having familiarity with guarding Chris Paul help?
KLAY THOMPSON: It helps. Just when you go against a guy for several years, yeah, it definitely helps.

Q. Steve [Kerr] was talking the other day about the playoff record at home, and saying you guys play with more pace at home. Why do you think that is? Is that coming from the crowd? Is it a commitment on the player's part to play faster at home?
KLAY THOMPSON: It's probably part of it is definitely the crowd. The crowd definitely helps. Maybe we just feel better at home. I don't know, but it's hard to say why. That's an interesting stat.

Q. Do you feel like -- what do you feel like you guys do better at home? Obviously you're a good team, but the numbers at home are off the charts in the playoffs.
KLAY THOMPSON: Well, I think our defense, although it's been good in Houston Game 1, and Game 2 a little slippage, but our defense at home leads to a lot of transition opportunities. When we get out and see the ball go in the basket, it just gives everyone confidence, especially if you make a couple easy shots. You feel like you could pull up from 30 feet after that.

So it just gives you rhythm. I think we just get more easier buckets at home from our defensive stops and deflections.

Q. Do people understand how different the type of defense you guys and the Rockets are playing is from what's been done in the NBA?
KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, it's very different, but our team was built like this, so we can play this way. We have so many guys like size and similar skill sets. Our center's 6-7, but he can guard every position. So it's pretty cool to see. It's kind of like we've modernized the NBA. I don't know if it's going in this direction, but it looks like it.

Q. You're kind of running centers out of a job.
KLAY THOMPSON: Oh, no, there are still a lot of great bigs in this game. I think there are still a lot of great players who play on the block.

Q. I know you've seen it a million times, but when Steph starts hitting shots and he's had a little bit of a dry spell, you talked the other day about how it wasn't quite the struggles that we made it out to be, but is there a sense of relief for you guys on the floor in that moment? What's that like?
KLAY THOMPSON: I don't really think it's relief because we're not worried when Steph's missing shots or making shots. As long as he exerts the effort, great things are going to go his way. No, there wasn't any relief. It could have been Steph, me, K.D., Andre, Draymond, whoever had a big night, that's fine. But at the end of the night, get that win.

We're 2-1 now, that's all that matters. No one's going to remember Steph -- he did have an amazing game. Never mind.

Q. Does Chris Paul play differently for the Rockets?
KLAY THOMPSON: A little bit. He doesn't have the ball in his hand as much as he used to. Probably had a higher usage rate with the Clippers. He's off the ball more with the Rockets. But still, when he has the ball in his hand, he still plays very similar. Gets in the paint, always looking for that lob threat, and very good in the mid-range still.

Q. When Andre's playing the way he did yesterday, you guys look pretty unbeatable. It's kind of been a good bellwether for you guys. But what is the biggest misconception about what he brings to the team? Because obviously the box score doesn't reflect everything that Andre does for you guys.
KLAY THOMPSON: At times I do think the boxscore reflects what he does. He always has a couple of steals, four or five rebounds, five points, four or five assists. He just does it all. He just always makes the right play. Will always come to a jump stop. Just like last night, came to a jump stop on the block. Could have gone up for the layup, but made the extra pass to Nick Young. He just sees basketball at a very high level. I'm not a huge believer in analytics, but I believe analytics are on Andre's side.

Q. How great is it as a defender knowing you have Draymond, Andre and KD backing you up?
KLAY THOMPSON: It gives us a ton of confidence, especially because this team's so good at the three-point line. You don't want to let them step into open threes. That's how they get going. Having those guys behind you gives you confidence to pressure your man more, get to the ball, and knowing that you have great protectors behind you, it does wonders.

Q. Do you like the challenge of switching on different types of offensive players?
KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, and I love showing my defensive versatility. It's not just trying to shut down the two-guard position. It's trying to shut down every man you guard, whether it's Chris Paul at the 1, [Clint] Capela at the 5, you just try to be a pest on everybody.

That's what the best defenders do, and I think everyone on our team has that attitude. That's why we're so good at switching.

Q. How hard is it to prepare for because you have to study the tendencies for all these different kinds of players, right?
KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, you do. But luckily for us we love this sport, so when you're watching opposing teams, it's not really homework. It's more just pleasure. What comes with that is you remember their tendencies and stuff, and it's fun to apply those. When you see every player, you have to think quickly out there.

Q. How do you guard against a letdown after a 41-point win? That you don't come out like you did in Game 2?
KLAY THOMPSON: That's a good question. You forget about it, as simple as it is, you have in the back of your mind that we haven't done much yet. We're 2-1, which is a good position to be in. But we're one game away from giving them home court again. So just being prideful about winning in Oracle too, keep the streak going. I know we eclipsed an NBA record, so it would be pretty cool to keep that going. We have a beautiful opportunity to do that tomorrow.

Q. Is it a must-win game?
KLAY THOMPSON: No, it's not a must-win game, but we'd like to win it very badly.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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