Klay Thompson is in a deep shooting slump, creating a dilemma for the Warriors

Let’s begin with the raw numbers. They tell an ugly early-season Klay Thompson story. He has fewer points (181) than shot attempts (185) through 12 games. That’s the epitome of extreme inefficiency in the NBA.

The advanced analytic community prefers true shooting percentage as a measurement. It balances out the value of 3s, 2s and free throws to pump out a balanced number. If you have a true shooting percentage in the mid to high 50s, you’re average. If it’s 60 and beyond, you’re efficient. If your name is Steph Curry — up to 459 points on 290 attempts in 14 games — you currently have an insane true shooting percentage of 70.1.

Thompson’s true shooting percentage is 47.1. Of the 164 players who have attempted at least 100 shots this season, that’s the fourth worst. Thompson only has a higher true shooting percentage than Jabari Smith Jr., James Bouknight and Killian Hayes. Smith is a struggling rookie. Bouknight is a floundering second-year bench player for the Hornets. Hayes is the least efficient offensive player in basketball.

That numeric reality, absent of team context, creates a problem for the Warriors. Smith, Bouknight and Hayes aren’t featured scorers. Thompson is. He’s taking 15.4 shots per game, second most on the Warriors, ahead of Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole. When a player with a usage rate of 25.1 is that inefficient, it naturally drags down an offense.

But now let’s add in the team context and zoom in on the third quarter Wednesday night in Phoenix. Defensive stops have a way of generating needed momentum. The Warriors are currently a bottom-five NBA defense. They don’t get many road stops. So when they do, there’s added importance to take advantage and build a run.

For years, so many of those runs have been sparked by a Thompson transition 3 early in the clock. But Thompson is currently shooting 33 percent on 3s, the second lowest among the league’s 10 highest volume shooters. Only Kelly Oubre Jr. — remember him? — has a lower current 3-point percentage.

So here the Warriors are late in that third quarter, down 90-83, still in the game because Steph Curry is on his way to a 50-point night. They get a defensive stop. Curry pushes the rebound into the frontcourt. One Suns defender is behind the play, creating a five-on-four opportunity. Poole is wide open on the left wing. Draymond Green has Cam Payne on him. There are several areas to attack and exploit.

GO DEEPER

Thompson: Even Steph Curry’s magic isn’t fixing what ails the Warriors

But Thompson just catches and fires with 19 on the shot clock as his teammates watch in a bit of exasperation. The miss drops Thompson to 5-of-14 on the night.

The rushed miss created a mismatch scramble as the Warriors scattered back in transition. It left Curry guarding Deandre Ayton in the post. But Curry muscles up enough against Ayton, and the Suns center settles for a long hook, which he misses. It’s another rare defensive stop. Curry grabs another…