Warriors host Klay Thompson and the Heat as his shooting picks up

Klay Thompson comes back to Chase Center on Thursday night shooting better than he has all season. He now plays for the Miami Heat, and the Golden State Warriors will see a different version of the old Splash Brother than the one who opened the year cold. The New York Post reports he made only 12 of his first 37 three-point attempts. Over his last two games he has hit 11 of 19, including a 19-point night in Monday's loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Thompson signed a two-year deal with Miami after a buyout from Dallas, Warriors Wire noted. He has started all seven of the Heat's games, averaging 11.9 points in 21.9 minutes. He also isn't hiding what he wants from the reunion. "I want to beat them bad," he told reporters in Miami, according to the Post, while also calling Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr some of his best friends.

This is his fifth trip back to San Francisco and the eighth meeting overall since he left. Kerr told the Post that seeing Thompson in another team's colors still feels a bit strange, but less so each time. History also tempers the hype. Thompson scored 22 and 29 in his first two games against Golden State, but he has averaged 11.2 points in the five since, with two single-digit nights. Andrew Wiggins, his teammate on the 2022 title team who is now also in Miami, has never scored more than 18 in three games against his old club. He is averaging a career-low 10.3 points and shooting 29.4% from three as he adjusts to playing next to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Miami's results have matched that awkward fit. The Monday loss to the Lakers was the Heat's fifth in seven games. Heavy noted that the Clippers were on Miami's schedule right before the trip north. The Heat then get two days off in San Francisco before Sunday's game in Sacramento.

What it means for Thursday

Golden State is 5-3 and on a five-game winning streak after losing three straight to open the season. Three of those wins came at home: 116-113 over Phoenix, 124-112 over the Clippers and 112-95 over the Lakers. The Warriors also won at Denver by 20 and at Minnesota by five. A team that started cold has found a rhythm just as a struggling opponent arrives on what could be the back half of a back-to-back. The game airs on NBA TV.

The Warriors are favored across the 11 venues on this site's board. Novig, one of those venues, has Golden State at -223 on the moneyline and Miami at +213. The best Warriors price anywhere is Polymarket's -204, a 19-cent spread between the two. Novig sets the spread at Golden State -6.5, paying +106. FanDuel has the Heat at +6.5 for -104, and BetRivers offers a shorter Warriors line of -4.5 at -139. The total sits at 237.5 on Novig and 235.5 at bet365, and sportsbook hold runs from 3.6% to 5.1% across markets.

The prices point to a comfortable home win. Thompson's last two games are the reason for doubt. If his shot keeps falling the way it has this week, the building that cheered him for 13 years could watch him make it uncomfortable.