Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson was at his wits’ end after two frustrating games at Oracle Arena, finding himself at odds against the media, facing a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals.
The big man couldn’t hide his frustration when asked if he feels “helpless” guarding the likes of Klay Thompson out on the perimeter, promptly walking off in true LeBron James fashion.
“Next question… That’s f***ed up,” Thompson said, feeling disrespected before walking off the presser.
The question had plenty of merits, as Thompson had bragged about being willing to take switches on the Golden State Warriors perimeter players prior to the start of the series and is having an awful time trying to back it up.
While his 11 points and five rebounds were a certain contribution and an improvement from a two-point dud in Game 1, both an injured Thompson and Kevin Durant shot well over 50 percent from the field, using and abusing a matchup against TT on the perimeter to exploit their speed and separation to shoot or create for others.
He was the asked the same about Stephen Curry, who had a comfortable 33 points on 9-of-17 from deep, but he was equally frustrated with the question, dropping a bunch of curse words (per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst), later saying “I’m over this ref sh*t” when asked about the officiating.
The Warriors are making use of Thompson island through the first two games of the series, and it’ll be up to Tyronn Lue and his staff to figure out a way to minimize those opportunities and put his center in less precarious situations over the next two games.
