Stephen Curry is already an all-time great, and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has many accolades, including three championships and a unanimous MVP selection. The Golden State Warriors enter the season with a new core, and now Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are the older veterans. Stephen Curry will have to carry the load for the Warriors with Thompson out: hopefully, someone can lessen his burden.
A former teammate of Curry’s, Zaza Pachulia, seems to agree with the notion that for Curry to be great, the team needs someone to be great with him. In this Sports Rush article, Raahib Singh reported why Pachulia thinks teammates are more important than focusing on how to shut down Curry.
“If his team doesn’t help out, Steph is going to struggle too”
Same thing goes with Steph. It started with Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green setting screens to get him open, Klay helps because teams cannot really load on Steph because if you leave Klay open, Klay’s going to make 14 3s against the Chicago Bulls. With Kevin Durant, one of the best players in the league, Steph has more freedom and he can be who he is. But if you have this amazing defender on him and a big man down there waiting for him, then Steph is going to struggle, too.
Pachulia explains that a lot of Curry’s impact is based on his freedom on the court. It is true, that usually better teammates bring the defenders’ attention on themselves, so Curry has time to operate. While Durant is no longer in Golden State, and Klay Thompson is injured, the responsibility falls upon Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andrew Wiggins. If they can step it up, then Curry can carry the team. Not having two Hall of Famers is bound to hurt for the season, but the Warriors could still be good.
Basketball is a team sport, and while a great player can drive success, the teammates he has are just as, if not more important. Hopefully, some of the young Warriors can step it up on the offensive end. Curry can create opportunities for them: they just need to seize the moment and step up.
