Things aren’t going quite as planned for the Golden State Warriors, falling behind 2-1 in their series with the Memphis Grizzlies, as Stephen Curry seems especially troubled with the physical style of his opponents, and the memes are celebrating his relative failure.
He is the regular season MVP, but Curry isn’t playing like one in the conference semifinals. After a fantastic first round against the Pelicans, he’s been held to just 21.3 points on 39.7% from the field and 27.6% from beyond the arc against Memphis, who aren’t giving him the space and freedom he needs to operate.
Maybe, above everything, the physicality is taking its toll on him. Not that there aren’t physical teams during the regular season that Curry overcame, but facing the same team with a big backcourt and two big men who know very well how to stop the pick & roll is making Curry feel trapped, leading to bad shots and bad numbers.
The Warriors are more than Curry and Klay Thompson, but they need the two of them to make their shots, or at least at a better rate than they’ve been making them so far. We’ve already seen a defending champion go out in this postseason. A championship favorite would be a nice piece to add to the collection.
