Why Steph’s Warriors’ burden, at 36, is heavier than ever originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors don’t want to be in that line with the regular NBA folks, standing behind the velvet rope and watching the league’s bougie teams get waved through the VIP entrance. It’s a humbling experience, especially for a franchise with glorious decorations.
The Warriors were once NBA royalty, the league’s most popular celebrities, living on the privileged side of the velvet rope.
They’re here now, having finished 10th in the Western Conference and waiting with assigned wildcards to the NBA Play-In Tournament, because only a thin layer separates them from pure mediocrity.
Because their roster has been reduced to just one All-Star: Stephen Curry.
Are his shoulders, sculpted by thousands of hours of strength training, strong enough to carry the Warriors to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and the rest of the play-in tournament? And, finally, in the exclusivity of the NBA playoffs?
“I think it’s pretty obvious it’s going to be a disappointment,” Curry said Monday, “if we’re not in a playoff run and have an opportunity to compete at that level.”
That was the case last season, when Curry not only led them to sixth place and an automatic playoff berth, but also produced a tour de force – 50 points, eight rebounds, six assists in 38 minutes – against the Kings in Game 7. of the first round to take the Warriors to the conference semifinals.
“He’s one of the great impact players in league history,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We know that.
“He led the league this year in player efficiency in crucial minutes,” Kerr continued. “We’ve seen him win championships, win Finals MVP. I mean, Steph Curry is Steph Curry. So this performance did not surprise me. Because he’s that guy. He’s “him,” as (Los Angeles Lakers guard) Austin Reaves said. He was sublime in that match.
As of last April, Curry had played in 134 playoff games over the previous eight postseasons. He progressed to this epic game to push Golden State into another playoff series. He was 24 in his first playoff game, 35 last spring. He turned 36 last month.
Every year an NBA star plays into their 30s, the volume of curiosity increases. How long can it be great? Or, in Curry’s case, how long can he continue to be the effective sun around which the Warriors revolve?
The cold truth is that it gets harder every year, especially when the two original members of Curry’s supporting cast — senior forwards Draymond Green and Klay Thompson — don’t rise as high as the years they were All-Stars eternal.
The Warriors are relatively deep, but the elite talent is less elite than it was five years ago. So the burden on Curry of being great is heavier. He’s more prepared than ever, but that only counts for himself.
“It’s a little bit more of a comfort zone to understand what that environment is like,” Curry said, reflecting on his postseason experience. “When you’re 26, you’re really nervous and anxious. You live on this youthful energy. This helps you move forward, even if mentally you don’t quite understand how to perform at that level. You can somehow get by.
“For me (now), it’s about locking in the strategy that we’re trying to implement with the game plan, understanding what I need to do to prepare my body.”
It must be understood that the flame of Curry’s competitive fire, on the basketball court or on the golf course, is wide and high and never goes out. Don’t believe for a moment that Golden State’s defeat in the conference semifinals against LeBron James and the Lakers last May doesn’t stick in his gut like a bag of thumbtacks.
And please believe that Curry is aware of the feat that James, three years older and his longtime rival and foil, pulled off on the final day of the regular season to ensure his Lakers would finish a match better than the Warriors in the standings. James’ epic stats in a win over the Pelicans on Sunday in New Orleans: 28 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds, five steals.
Curry would like to make his own statement. Not to prove anything – he’s beyond that – but to remind everyone that he still has the goods.
“This year has been full of ups and downs, and the playoffs are the most fun time of the year,” he said. “We just want an opportunity.
“Even sitting here 24 hours before the game (in Sacramento), I feel very comfortable and ready for the moment. It just comes from all the performances you’ve had over the years.
Curry knows what awaits him Tuesday night. Being at the top of Sacramento’s scouting report means the usual double teams and a platoon of defenders whose mission is to not let him take control of the game.
So the Kings don’t let Curry send them home for the second straight season with something that remotely resembles the 50-point bomb he dropped last April.
The win puts the Warriors halfway out of the gate. All Curry and his teammates want is to win twice in a row and prove they deserve to be admitted.
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