“Not gonna be easy this year”: Klay Thompson offers gloomy assessment on Warriors’ title hopes

Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors continue to struggle, and concerns have been raised about whether they can become legit title contenders this season. With just 18 wins after their first 38 games, the Warriors are outside the play-in spots, trailing the 10th-placed Utah Jazz (20-20) by one game.

Despite the early struggles Golden State has been dealing with, Klay Thompson remains confident about his team's title chances.

"We are a championship team. Obviously we can't claim this right now, being close to .500," Thompson said after Friday's win over Bulls (140-131). "Some of our best players are out, but we know we can be as good as anybody, beat the best teams in the league, compete with teams down to the wire." [via NBC Sports Bay Area].

"We understand that it's not going to be easy this year ... but we know the sky's the limit for a team like this."

The Warriors returned to the winning track after their blowout 141-105 home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, which led to fans booing the team.

Klay Thompson goes for 30 points in victory over the Chicago Bulls

Klay Thompson returned to his usual standards on Friday, helping the Warriors defeat the Chicago Bulls in a must-win game for the West contenders.

The All-Star guard scored 30 points in 34 minutes on 9-19 shooting and 7-15 from beyond the arc. He also had six rebounds and six assists, while Stephen Curry scored 27 points, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter.

"This was a game we felt we had to win, especially with the upcoming road trip. When our spirit is right, things tend to go our way," Klay Thompson said afterwards, per NBA.com.

Thompson, like several of the Warriors' players, has received a lot of criticism for his performance. Some Golden State fans even urged coach Steve Kerr to bench the four-time champion and Andrew Wiggins and make changes to the starting lineup.

"I don’t care. You supposed to lose sleep over it?" Thompson said regarding the Warriors' fans booing their team, according to Sports Illustrated.

"The biggest thing for Klay is to not be so hard on himself. He’s a perfectionist — he thinks he should make every shot. He just has to loosen up, let it fly and have some fun out there," coach Steve Kerr recently said on Thompson' struggles this season, via the San Francisco Chronicle.

Klay Thompson, whose contract is expiring, has averaged 17.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists this season while shooting 38.9 percent from beyond the arc.