The Golden State Warriors have moved up to 22-0, with Stephen Curry having an oh so pedestrian game of 28 points in 32 minutes. It’s getting boring, and it’s making people rooting against them, but besides all the emotional attachments, there’s nothing better in sports, not just the NBA, than a Warriors basketball game.
Poetry in motion might be exaggerating, but it’s not that far. The ball movement, the spacing, the intelligence, the freedom combined with discipline, all to make a star that’s not very selfish in the way he’s handling himself on and off the court, show the world a new brand of efficiency from every spot on the floor. Curry is averaging 32.4 points per game while shooting 53.2% from the field, 47.2% from beyond the arc and 91.2% from the line. There’s nothing he can’t do. There’s nowhere he can’t make shots from.
Obviously, this isn’t just the Curry show. Draymond Green is the player now everyone is looking floor. He’s a 3 & D kind of guy, but also one that’s not far from a triple double every game (13.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists) and can play as the big man. The Warriors have a lot of things working for them which allows them to run smaller lineups and rotations that make it impossible for opponents to keep up. Green playing the ‘5’ or ‘4’ and guarding anyone on the court might be the most important aspect of it all.
The Nets were no match right from the start in the 114-98 loss, although it once again took a big third quarter from Curry to seal the deal, scoring 16 of his 28 points in the third. Curry does score points off of basketball plays, rolling off screens and making the most of double teams (a team that’s impossible to double team during most of their lineups) but he also has his shots that only he can make. When he slowly dribbles the ball towards the 3-point line, lowers his body and then pulls up. Hand in the face or no hand, there is simply no way of stopping him from getting that shot off it seems.
Maybe there’s a way of stopping the Warriors. It might be the Spurs who have both Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green on the floor to make things difficult for Curry and so far have the best defense in the league. We were denied that matchup in the playoffs last season, and who knows, maybe we’ll see a team solve this enigma, of a team people are still rubbing their eyes in disbelief when they see playing and look at their record. History in the making, in the most humble way possible, which makes the whole thing even more mysterious.