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After getting their first win of the season on Friday night, perhaps there was some hope that the Golden State Warriors would re-discover the rhythm that carried them to a NBA title in June.
Instead, the Warriors re-lived hard times against the Memphis Grizzlies, who have been a relatively consistent problem even as the Stephen Curry-led franchise has risen to the highest heights of the NBA.
In short, it was an ugly and sort of deflating loss to watch.
Steve Kerr has said repeatedly that the team simply isn’t ready yet—the 2017-18 regular season has begun and the Warriors seem trapped in a preseason state. That’s not a statement of panic or criticism of Kerr’s coaching as much as statement that this team still needs some time to figure out how to get back to who they are.
Saturday night’s in particular probably only exacerbated things: it was the back end of a road back to back in the midst of an early-season road trip that will have them play three games in four days. Guys have been injured and Kerr’s playing with rotations. The Grizzlies just aren’t a team you want to run into in those circumstances.
Curry shot well on a poor shooting night for the Warriors
To cut to the chase, on a night when the Warriors couldn’t seem to hit anything, Steph Curry was the most efficient offensive player.
Curry shot over 52.9% from the field on a night that the Warriors shot 39.3% as team. Take out Curry and Durant’s combined 20-for-41 shooting (48.7%) and the rest of the team shot just 13-for-43 or 30.2%. With nobody able to shoot, Curry complemented his 6-for-11 3-point shooting with 13-for-13 free throw shooting, getting himself to the line in addition to launching the ball from outside.
None of that should excuse Curry’s poor defense or the actions at the end of the game that got him ejected, but he was the best thing the Warriors had going offensively on a night when nobody was able to even get started.
Curry calls throwing the mouth piece “stupid”
That Curry would even be considered for Warrior Wonder on a night when he got ejected speaks far more to how terribly the team played than anything—even he admitted after the game that throwing the mouth piece was stupid.
Steph Curry calls the mouthguard throw "stupid" but says it wasn't directed at the referee pic.twitter.com/RXrxjpaC1h
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 22, 2017
But Curry’s individual performance is also a testament to just how good he is offensively: for all the people bending over backwards to prove he’s a product of Kerr’s system or a “collaborative talent” (whatever that means), this was one of those cases where he showed what he can do when nearly everything else broke down.
If nothing else, we should take time to appreciate just how dynamic a player we’re all witnessing, even in low moments like this one.
But who was your Warrior Wonder? Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments!
Poll
Who was the Warrior Wonder against the Grizzlies?
This poll is closed
-
2%
Zaza Pachulia
(26 votes) -
1%
Draymond Green
(14 votes) -
3%
Kevin Durant
(33 votes) -
2%
Klay Thompson
(27 votes) -
63%
Steph Curry
(645 votes) -
0%
Shaun Livingston
(5 votes) -
0%
Andre Iguodala
(6 votes) -
0%
Patrick McCaw
(6 votes) -
0%
Jordan Bell
(10 votes) -
0%
David West
(6 votes) -
1%
JaVale McGee
(12 votes) -
1%
Nick Young
(16 votes) -
4%
Quinn Cook
(42 votes) -
16%
Dumb fouls
(169 votes)