At least through the first five games of the season, the idea of Klay Thompson has been much better than the execution of it on the court for the Miami Heat. It's gotten so bad that, at this point, Erik Spoelstra has to be running out of reasons to trust the former All-Star guard.
Klay hasn't been great defensively, which isn't that surprising a revelation. At this point in his career, he just doesn't have the lateral quickness and explosion to be a difference-making defender on the perimeter. While his struggles defensively shouldn't come as a surprise, it's his offensive indifference that has to be truly frustrating for the Heat.
Klay Thompson has not lived up to his expectations
When the Heat signed Klay, the hope was that he would be a player who could help calm the Heat's shooting concerns. Through the first five games of the season, that just hasn't been the case.
In five games, Klay is averaging just eight points per game on 32 percent shooting from the 3-point line. The Heat have one of the worst starting 5's in the league, and Klay plays a role in that.
It's not just the fact that he has a plus/minus of -10.8 when he's on the floor, or the idea that the Heat has a defensive rating of 132 with Klay. It's much more than that. Perhaps more importantly, Klay just hasn't had the gravitational impact that the Heat believed he would.
In fairness, it's difficult to see the impact of that when Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo are still trying to figure out their comfort spots on the floor together. Considering most of Klay's minutes are alongside Giannis and Bam, with the starting 5, that matters.
But more than that, Klay is struggling with his shot, and that has a lot to do with the Heat's offensive headaches. Right now, because of Klay's shooting struggles, the honest truth is that he just doesn't bring much value to the Heat when he's on the floor.
And that leads to a bigger question.
When will Erik Spoelstra pull the plug on Klay in the starting 5?
At what point will enough be enough for Spoelstra when it comes to keeping Klay in the starting unit?
Historically, Spoelstra doesn't make like to make rash moves, especially when it comes to his beloved veterans. And, I suppose, Klay has earned the right to try to figure things out over the next few games. But the Heat's struggles may not give him that luxury.
Even though the Heat finally won their first game of the season, there's still a great urgency for Miami to start trending in the right direction. And if they haven't figured something out with the offense, Spoelstra may have no other option but to consider making a significant change to the starting 5.
And, unfortunately, with the way things have played out through the first five games of the season, Klay will likely find himself on the outside looking in if Spoelstra does make a change to the starting 5.
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