West Notes: Warriors, Klay Thompson, Pelicans, Lakers

Warriors

Coach Steve Kerr said the aggressiveness of shooting guard Klay Thompson is a big reason the Warriors have been able to stay afloat minus star guard Steph Curry.

“[He’s] much more poised as of late,” Kerr said of Thompson, via Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Seems to be in a better frame of mind where he’s able to withstand a rough patch in the game or even a rough game, and not get too emotional about it, and he’s really been calmer and more poised and I think that’s allowing him to be more consistent.

“But he’s been great now for a pretty good stretch.”

Forward Draymond Green added that rebounding from the wing has also helped the cause.

“It’s huge,” Green said, via Rodriguez. “Everyone always talks about our size. And when you have wings rebounding the way that they’re rebounding, it doesn’t matter. (Donte DiVincenzo‘s) been rebounding all year, Klay’s taking that next step, and he’s been doing it consistently since coming out of the All-Star break.”

• In case you missed it, Curry is expected to make his return on Sunday vs. the Lakers. We have that full post here.

Pelicans

Forward Brandon Ingram was in a “dark place” as he recovered from a toe injury earlier this season, he told Will Guillory of The Athletic.

“It was hard. There were certain days when it felt like I had to fight just to be there mentally for my teammates and for myself. I had to fight just to keep a smile on my face so they wouldn’t see me down,” Ingram said, via Guillory. “I’m a person that believes everything happens for a reason. So, I just tried to dig deep, real deep down and get myself out of that dark place. I learned a lot about myself during that time.”

The Pelicans continue to march on without injured power forward Zion Williamson (again) as they take aim at the postseason.

“I know I have a major responsibility to make sure everybody stays locked in and we have a sense of urgency as we head down the stretch. We know every game we have ahead of us is extremely important,” Ingram said, via Guillory. “My responsibility is just to make sure everybody is ready and keep everybody involved so we can play our best basketball when we need it.”

Lakers

Forward Rui Hachimura has been focused on helping on rebounding and crashing the glass after a talk with Darvin Ham and the rest of the coaching staff.

“I talked to the coaches a couple days ago and they told me they want me to be more aggressive on the defensive rebounding side,” Hachimura said after Wednesday’s win over the Thunder, via Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation. “So today I was trying to be more involved with the defensive rebounds, even the offensive rebounds too. I think I did a pretty good job on that and I think it helped the team win.”

• Star forward LeBron James is expected to miss at least another two weeks, likely longer. But at least he reportedly won’t need surgery on his injured foot. We have the latest on that right here.