Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors got off to a strong start in their NBA season. On opening night, the Warriors visited the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center and pulled off an upset against LeBron James and company.
The surprising thing about the game was the performance of the superstars. LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 67 points on the night, but still couldn’t help their team to victory.
Whereas, Steph Curry had an unusually bad shooting night, and put up a 20-point triple-double on 5-21 shooting. Curry’s range was off on the night, as he made just under 25% of his shots, and just 25% of his three-pointers. Curry even spoke after the game, saying that his performance was ‘trash’, despite the triple-double.
The Warriors will travel back to San Francisco, to face the LA Clippers next. Paul George spoke recently about the Clippers and addressed their win over the Lakers.
He noted that them being able to win against a championship contender like the Lakers despite Curry’s poor shooting night is ‘scary’, and their identity as a great ball-rotating team is something they have figured out.
It's only a matter of time till Steph Curry finds his range 💦 pic.twitter.com/v2erJOp4lq
— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) October 21, 2021
“They move the ball. It’s scary. Steph didn’t shoot it well, and they still win.”
The Warriors winning despite Curry’s incredible numbers was a big improvement over last year. Curry was spectacular for the Warriors last year, as he was their sole superstar. He put up MVP-caliber numbers. But without Curry, the Warriors played very poorly, and couldn’t put together a string of wins.
If the Warriors can win their games despite an off night for Curry, this could spell trouble for the rest of the conference. One of the Warriors’ biggest problems last season was their overreliance on Steph. And if they have other players like Jordan Poole, who can step up when Steph isn’t playing well, that would be a big boost.
