It’s easy to forget now, but as the Golden State Warriors were winning an NBA record 73 games and seemingly marching to a second straight title in 2016, there was a healthy debate over whether they should pursue Kevin Durant in free agency.
Durant is a tremendous player, to be sure, but with a team already that dominant, was it worth blowing up the chemistry that had been formed to add yet another all-star to the three the Warriors had?
That debate, however, largely took place before Stephen Curry sprained his ankle in the opening game of the 2016 playoffs against the Houston Rockets. After returning for the third game of that series, he slipped on a wet spot on the court in Houston and sprained his MCL. Curry eventually returned, and led Golden State to within a couple possessions of that second championship. But he never looked quite like himself, and the Warriors eventually blew a three games to one lead and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
That disappointing result was the catalyst for the Warriors going all-in on Durant that summer. Golden State had learned firsthand that for as good as it was that season, there was still enough margin for error that one injury could derail everything.
That serves as a prologue for the moment the Warriors find themselves in now, as they learned Saturday afternoon that Curry would be out at least the next three weeks with a Grade 2 sprain of his medial collateral ligament after center JaVale McGee fell into Curry’s legs in Friday’s home win over the Atlanta Hawks.
There was some cruel irony in the sequence of events that led to Curry’s injury — not only because Curry was in his first game back from missing six games with a sprained ankle (and had 29 points in 26 minutes, to boot) but because it was eerily similar to a play in which Zaza Pachulia fell into Kevin Durant’s leg last year in Washington, knocking him out for six weeks.
That play, though, came at the start of March, and allowed Durant to come back just before the start of the playoffs. This one means Curry will be reevaluated three weeks from Saturday, which will be the opening day of this year’s postseason.
It’s hard to imagine Curry won’t miss a good chunk of the first round, and likely all of it.
For most teams, losing one of the league’s five best players would be a near impossible burden to overcome. Curry, the greatest shooter the sport has ever seen, bends defenses in ways no one has before him, and even these star-studded Warriors are a far different team with him on the court, as opposed to sitting on the bench.
But those who are already writing off Golden State’s title chances after this injury, or installing the Houston Rockets as this year’s title favorites, are forgetting precisely why the Warriors chased Durant two summers ago: so that if they found themselves in this situation again, they’d still be the most talented team in the NBA.
There’s no doubt the Rockets have been brilliant this season. James Harden will be the league’s runaway selection for its most valuable player award. When Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela have all played in the same game, the Rockets are an obscene 39-2. They have a deep lineup full of switchable players capable of both spacing the floor and playing defense.
Golden State, meanwhile, has dealt with one injury after another. Curry had four different issues with his ankles, and is going to finish the season having played just 51 games — his lowest total since his third season in the league, when he played just 26. Kevin Durant has missed time recently with a rib injury, Klay Thompson is out with a thumb injury and Draymond Green has been a constant on Golden State’s daily injury updates throughout the season.
Combined with the fact Golden State has spent most of the season looking like a team going through the motions, hoping to get to the playoffs healthy and then turn things up in what is a fourth straight season where the Warriors are expected to play 100 games, it’s clear why the Rockets have gained expectations.
Yet it needs to be noted that Houston is still just four games better than Golden State this season, entering Saturday night’s action.
That isn’t a knock on the Rockets — who are clearly the team that should win the title this season if the Warriors don’t, and have the makings of what is a potentially all-time great squad. It is instead a reminder that, for all of the doubts about Golden State, and for all of the questions about how they’ve looked this season, they still have the NBA’s second-best record and are still within shouting distance of the ridiculous pace the Rockets have set.
Even if Curry somehow didn’t make it back at all this season, Golden State still has a trio of stars no other team in the league can match. Having all four of them healthy for the postseason made the Warriors virtually unbeatable last season, as they won their first 15 postseason games before eventually losing one to the Cavaliers, and settling for a 16-1 playoff record — the best in NBA history.
It’s unlikely the Warriors would have that smooth of a trip through the postseason this year, even if they were fully healthy. But teams don’t get style points for winning championships with ease. They simply win those championships by accruing 16 wins.
So now Golden State will wait for Curry to come back, and will try to get the rest of its roster healthy and ready to go for when the postseason begins in three weeks.
Assuming they do, they’ll remain the favorites to win this year’s title. Despite the disappointing news about Curry, their status hasn’t changed. They were built for this.
Read more:
Stan Van Gundy was told not to tank. The Pistons are headed for the lottery again anyway.
DeMarcus Cousins offers to pay for funeral of Sacramento man shot by police
Kings owner says team will try to ‘bring everybody together’ after protests delay game
NBA Podcast: Answering questions about the Sixers, Jazz, Rookie of the Year and more
With little to play for, the Hornets have gone completely bonkers
Read Again Brow https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/03/24/steph-curry-will-miss-at-least-three-weeks-but-the-warriors-are-still-title-favorites/Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Steph Curry will miss at least three weeks, but the Warriors are still title favorites"
Post a Comment