"I gotta make some shots; I can't be airballing" - Klay Thompson's candid review of his own performance, says he's gotta be better after disappointing loss to Dallas Mavericks  

Klay Thompson had a rough day at the office. The Golden State Warriors shooting guard, who made a return to the Dubs lineup after a two-game absence, had an underwhelming shooting night against the Dallas Mavericks.

Playing on the road, Thompson went 6-of-17 from the field and two-of-eight (25.0%) from long range as the Warriors lost 113-122 to the Mavericks. Thompson finished with 16 points, shooting less then 36.0% from the field for the fourth time in 18 games this season.

Speaking about his inefficient shooting night, Klay Thompson was hard on himself. He told the media:

“I gotta make some shots. I can’t be airballing, shooting off the side of the backboard. I gotta be better. It’s on me. I did not play well tonight.”

Asked whether some of the poor shooting was due to him sitting out the previous two games because of illness and there being a little rust, Klay replied:

"Yeah, definitely. But every time I step out there I expect to be great, so I'll be better."

Steve Kerr says it was a "tough night" for Klay Thompson

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also provided some perspective on Klay Thompson's struggles versus the Dallas Mavericks. Kerr told the media:

"Yeah, tough night for Klay. He's coming back from the illness. He needs all these reps. He needs the minutes to get ready for what's ahead. We've got 19 games left. He's going to have some bumps on the road. But we're going to keep going to him and putting him out there and letting him feel the minutes down the stretch and he's going to get better."

But Kerr remained optimistic about Thompson and also provided a path for his star shooting guard to get better. Kerr opined:

"I think when he's gotten into trouble, it's because he's forcing the issue. He just needs to let the game come to him and move the ball and trust that the ball will come back to him. I think he's just been trying to hard. We can't blame him. He's been out for two-and-a-half years and he just wants to come back and make an impact. Hopefully, from here, he stays healthy and he can get into a nice groove."

Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors will now look to improve on their recent form when they visit the LA Lakers on Saturday.