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Steph Curry’s half-court logo shooting clash with Damian Lillard will have to wait, at least according to one of the participants.
The Warriors star commented on an Instagram post from the Portland Trail Blazers guard last month, Curry joking that he would come out of the half court with 18 seconds left on the shot clock if Lillard did so. Sadly, Lillard told former NBC Sports Bay Area teammate and analyst Dorell Wright earlier that the timing was not right for Portland’s visit to the Chase Center on Friday night.
“I think right now, with the injuries the Warriors have been facing and Steph playing for a younger team right now, he sees that it’s hard to get those quality looks right now,” he said. Lillard told Wright, his Portland teammate from 2013 until 15, in an interview that aired Friday night on Warriors Pregame Live. The broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Bay Area.
“It’s different from what he looked like the last four or five years for him,” Lillard continued. “He’s trying to get quality looks and a clean look so he can make it a good one. You don’t really have the luxury of taking one that deep just to take it like in the past, and I” I’m the same, getting a lot of attention from the defenses. ”
Curry and Lillard are off for equally slow starts, albeit under different circumstances. Curry missed all but five games last season with a broken hand, spending more than nine months between what would be the last appearance of the 2019-20 regular season and his first of the 2020-2021 campaign. Lillard, meanwhile, played during the restarted NBA season in his bubble just outside of Orlando, Fla. Over the summer. The Los Angeles Lakers knocked out the Blazers in the first round of the playoffs on August 29, and Portland opened that season just under four months later on December 23.
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After an abridged preseason that followed abnormal offseason, neither Curry nor Lillard got their shot back. Neither player has made more than a third of their 3-point shots this season, let alone nearly half of their shots from the field. Only once has each sniper achieved at least 50% of their shots in a game this season.
“I’m trying to see the ball come in so I’m not about to shoot one just because,” said Lillard. “I have to do it first, so I think we both see the same thing that way. Once the season starts and everyone’s in good shape, I think that’s where you’re going to see it.
Curry and Lillard’s slumps aren’t permanent, and they should each rediscover their shot touch as soon as possible. In other words? Don’t hold your breath for the half-court checks on Friday or Sunday nights, but keep your calendars open when the Warriors visit Portland on March 3.
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