How Warriors benching former All-Star benefits Klay Thompson

The Golden State Warriors have lost four of their last five games, dropping to 11th place in the Western Conference. With the starting lineup struggling and Draymond Green facing an indefinite suspension, coach Steve Kerr made a big change, sending Wiggins to the bench in favor of rookie Brandin Podziemski. Third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga replaced Green.

The primary beneficiary might be Klay Thompson, whose shot has been inconsistent this year. Thompson led the league in made three-pointers last season, but he's down to 2.9 threes per game, compared to last year's 4.4 triples, and his percentage has dropped from 41.2 percent to 36.4 percent.

Why is he so off? A big part of it is the lack of spacing with the starters. Center Kevon Looney rarely shoots unless he's next to the basket, with 94 percent of his shots coming within 10 feet of the rim. Green has been making three-pointers this season (42.9 percent), but opposing teams don't respect Green's three-point shot, which he's made less than 32 percent of the time in his career.

The Warriors could overcome the spacing issues when Wiggins was a three-point threat, but he's having the worst season of his career as a shooter. Thirteen games into the season, he was shooting 13 percent from behind the arc, and he's still making just over a quarter of his threes. That means defenses can treat three Warriors starters as non-shooters, making it tough for Thompson to get off his shots.

Thursday night, the added shooting threat from Podziemski opened up the floor for Thompson's shooting and passing. He made eight threes and delivered five assists in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kerr may not be done shaking things up. With Looney turning the ball over nearly twice as much as last year and shooting a career-worst 64.3 percent within three feet of the basket, the team might try Dario Saric at the five to further juice the starting lineup's offense — and add another passing threat to find Thompson on the perimeter.

There's no telling what's causing Wiggins' slump. It could poor conditioning and the aftereffects of a rib injury last season. He may be distracted by his father's health issues, but until he can get his shot back, the Warriors are going to pair Thompson and Steph Curry with at least one shooting threat. That, or they'll all be sitting out during the playoffs.