"He gave us a perfect example of FC Barcelona, they call it tiki-taka" - Klay Thompson praises Warriors coach for laying out impeccable strategy to help them become a dynasty

Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors beat the LA Lakers on opening night.

Klay Thompson praised Steve Kerr for his vision of the Golden State Warriors, making them a pass-first team. Thompson spoke about it with the "Inside the NBA" crew following Golden State's win over the LA Lakers on opening night:

"I give credit to Steve [Kerr] man. He came in, he had a vision, just to keep that thing hot. He gave us a perfect example of FC Barcelona, they call it tiki-taka. It's just kick it to the open man. With us, it's just hit the open man. Keep moving. And it just plays to me and Steph's strengths so much."

Thompson made the comment after Golden State did not let the Lakers ruin their season opener. On the night that the Warriors were presented with championship rings, the home team ran away with an impressive 123-109 win.

Steph Curry, the 2022 Finals MVP, scored 33 points. Andrew Wiggins (20 points) and Klay Thompson (18 points) reached double-digit scores as well.

Unsurprisingly, the standout stat category for the Warriors was their 31 assists. Their ability to find the open man has been an integral part of the Dubs' offense ever since Kerr joined the franchise in 2014. Since then, the team has gone on to win four titles in eight seasons.

The Dubs ranked at the top of the assists category for six of the seven seasons between 2014 and 2021. Last season, they finished among the top five.

The Warriors' 2016-17 season saw them average 30.4 assists. The season ranks among the top five assist averages by a team in history. It is the best showing by a team in the past 38 seasons.

It was this very brand of dishing out assists that led Thompson to praise Kerr.

Warriors look unaffected by recent altercation between teammates

The victory seemed to put an end over doubts if the Warriors would be able to move past the Draymond Green-Jordan Poole altercation. Both players played on Tuesday night, with Poole even tallying an assist for Green.

At least one NBA observer credits Jordan Poole entirely for handling the episode so well. Speaking on the latest episode of "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," Skip Bayless said:

"I do not believe that he [Green] and Poole will have any issues going forward mainly because of Jordan Poole. He just seemed above it all. He handled it perfectly, beautifully. He got it. He knows he is way better at this point than Draymond. He's pretty great.
"The point is he could have escalated this on social media. Nothing. He could have escalted it in the press conferences, not a word. Professional. Start to finish. They connected on the court; they will be fine."
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