The Golden State Warriors have found themselves stuck in a position that no one would have guessed happening to a team that only lost 9 games during an 82 game long season. They are down 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and on the brink of elimination in Oakland on Thursday.
People are quick to point figures and find a reason as to why the Warriors are losing, but the simple matter is their losing because they’re playing bad. A major reason for their poor play is the disappearance of 2 time MVP Stephen Curry, who has been on a bit of a tear with injuries these playoffs. He hurt his elbow in Game 2 of the West Finals, but missed no time, and had previously strained his MCL which left him out of the majority of the 2nd round vs. the Blazers. The combination of injuries and the long season of winning has to put some strain on Curry’s body leading to the fatigue we’re seeing in the game.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Curry isn’t close to his full form:
“He’s playing at 70 percent, at best,” a source close to Curry told The Vertical. Curry refuses to make excuses, but privately the Thunder see something – no explosion, no ability to make the bigs switching onto him pay a price. Nineteen points on 20 shots Tuesday night bore no resemblance to the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.
The speculation that he is 70% percent is pretty plausible. Curry has struggled over the past 2 games ever since hitting his elbow, scoring a total of 43 points off 13-37 from the field, and 5-22 from the 3-point line, but Steve Kerr does not believe it’s as a result of the injuries. Kerr was quick to refute reports that claimed Curry was playing at 70%. According to Ben Bolch of the LA Times:
Steve Kerr: “Nobody has said anything about Steph being 70% to me.”
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) May 25, 2016
Steve Kerr: “Our training staff, relatives, friends, sources with knowledge of our team’s thinking—nobody has told me he’s 70%.”
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) May 25, 2016
Steve Kerr said Stephen Curry was mostly bothered by long layoff: “He may just not be quite where he needs to be, but it’s not an injury.”
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) May 25, 2016
With Curry, you assume that he’s going to play right now, because they are facing elimination from the playoffs that everyone thought they would win in. But at this point in the season there really are no time for excuses. As a team that won 73 games, only losing a total of 9 games, you can’t say that just because one of your superstars is hurt, you’re losing. The Warriors lackadaisical play has come from all angles, including All-Star Draymond Green and the bolstering bench that has helped them throughout the season. What we’ve learned time and time again is that superstars that truly become legends find other ways to affect the game and the tempo without scoring the ball, something that Curry has to realize. If the Warriors want any chance at coming back in this series, Curry is going to understand that despite not playing like the MVP we know, he can still impact the game in more than one way.
UPDATE:
According to Rosalyn Gold-Onwude:
Spoke w/ Steph Curry in OKC & he admitted he does feel some pain in knee & w constant play hard to progress in healing, but mind over matter
— Rosalyn Gold-Onwude (@ROSGO21) May 25, 2016
So Curry’s knee pain is keeping him from being the normal MVP he is, but they’re going to need him playing if they want to have any chance at coming back in this series.
