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Stephen Curry has missed 38 of the first 56 3 points he has attempted this season. His Golden State Warriors were flawless without injured Klay Thompson by his side in their famous Splash Brothers backcourt, losing by 26, 39 and 25 points in the first five games.
There was little at the time to suggest that Curry would soon crush the race for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and inspire his coach, Steve Kerr, to say that “this is the best” version to be played. this day of his star custody.
Curry stopped before saying he was okay with it. The likely explanation: he’s more daring than ever with his selection of shots, his confidence, his festive highlights and his ambition. So he always expects more and resists limits, even as his 33rd birthday approaches next month.
“I’m playing well,” Curry said in a phone interview – but insisted he can still improve.
“I know it’s a little crazy to say,” he added.
Such speech is not crazy for the warriors. Shaun Livingston, a former teammate who moved into the team’s front office, said Curry was a significantly stronger absorbing contact after working on his body during the offseason. Curry cited an improved ability to read defenses as an even more important development in his game.
After a broken hand and the NBA pandemic-imposed break that limited him to five games last season, Curry bounced back with strength. He managed to come out of his first 3-point shooting bouts with a career-high 62 points against Portland on Jan.3, passed Hall of Famer Reggie Miller for career second-place 3-point on Jan.23 and hung 57 points. on the Dallas Mavericks two weeks later.
Curry averages 30 points, 6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.2% from the ground and 42.5% from a distance of 3 points. These are the strongest numbers he’s produced since 2015-16, when he was named the league’s MVP for the second straight season. The offensive push got him to join Michael Jordan on a very short roster averaging 30 points per game at 32 or older.
Team officials have grown accustomed to seeing him skeptical after skeptic since arriving from Davidson College as the 7th pick in the 2009 Draft. They understand that Curry, who has become the kind of groundbreaking franchise cornerstone that no one not considering at the time, may have to stay at a supernova level to bring his team 16-13 back to the playoffs. They’ve also now learned that there’s no point in trying to curb your aspirations or quirks – even if that means watching Curry scroll through potentially toxic social media reviews on his phone in mid-mid. -time.
Andrew Bogut, the recently retired former Warriors big man, revealed on his new “Rogue Bugs” podcast last month that Curry was inclined to check his Twitter mentions “if he had a bad half.” When asked to verify the story, Curry laughed and said it had indeed become “a very bad habit”.
Bogut last played alongside Curry for the final month of the 2018-19 regular season and playoffs, which were marred by serious injuries to Kevin Durant (Achilles tendon) and Thompson (knee) and interrupted the Warriors’ remarkable three-championship run. on five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals. Asked how often he still glances at halftime, Curry replied, “Probably more often than you think.”
As such, prior to that 62-point eruption against the Trail Blazers, Curry was keenly aware of the rise in criticism on social media, doubting his ability to carry an injured team and saying that a bad season for the Warriors could. harm his heritage.
“I’ve seen it all,” he said of the critical tweets. “It was hilarious.”
As misguided as doomscrolling seems, given the potential ill effects on his mental health, Curry said he focused more on “the comedy that I get from it” than trying to “keep the receipts” from fans. and the media that don’t. believe in him.
“It started by accident to be honest,” he said, the day before he was named the All-Star starter for the seventh time. “I had this ritual with my wife where at half time she would give me encouragement or kick me in the ass if I was playing poorly. And, obviously, with the way iPhones are built, that Twitter button is right there. It’s easy to wrap yourself around for a minute or two. To this day, I don’t know how Bogut figured it out, as it wasn’t like I was reading the tweets out loud.
After two games with at least 10 3 points earlier this month, Curry missed 15 of his first 18 3 points against the Miami Heat on Wednesday – only to empty two 3-point clutches in overtime in the win from behind. It’s the kind of performance that is igniting social media, with critics clamoring for the take back of his two MVP trophies and supporters responding by “just asking” why he lives on in so many people’s heads without rent. (Translation: Why talk so much about him if he’s not as powerful as expected?)
“I don’t think he’s playing the game with frustration or trying to prove people wrong,” said Bruce Fraser, Warriors assistant coach, who works as closely with Curry as anyone in the organization. “I think he just wants to be awesome. I saw him chase greatness last summer when no one was watching him. The main element of his success is the time he devoted to it and his push last summer.
Eight-plus months off, as part of one of eight teams that did not qualify to finish last season in the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World, led to the most productive offseason of Curry. It was the perfect tonic after the Warriors performed well in June for five straight springs. Curry was constantly in the gym, with his longtime personal trainer Brandon Payne as well as Fraser, adding muscle to play through the contract and avoid grabbing and grabbing the ball, and girding himself up to get in. inside when the defenses made it too tight on the outside. The defenses stalk Curry so closely on the perimeter that he drives the ball more than he has since 2015-16; nearly 30 percent of the shots Curry has taken this season are within 10 feet of the basket.
“I’ve always been a late bloomer,” Curry said of increasing strength, “so it’s no surprise.
When Curry missed at the start of the season, Fraser refused to worry. He was sure Curry was up to the challenge of leading an essentially new team outside of the title-tested Draymond Green. It was Fraser who, after all, threw the passes in a post-practice shooting session on Dec. 26 when Curry had 105 consecutive 3 points – 103 of them in front of the camera.
The purity of Curry’s shot told Fraser that the real issue was how Curry was adjusting to an array of new defensive covers. With Durant now on the Nets, Thompson unavailable and little reliable shooting elsewhere in the roster, Curry had to get used to opposing teams blocking him like never before.
“At the start of the season it was really tough for him,” said Fraser. “Box-and-one, double teams, traps, triple teams. In transition, I saw times when Steph came down to the ground and there were four guys around him.
Fraser’s recap hit one of Curry’s favorite topics. At this point in his career, Curry seems to enjoy talking as much about the nuances of playing the game as he does about making it.
“My patience is a lot better now if I had to pick one thing,” said Curry. “How I see the game when I’m on and off the ball, seeing what the defense offers you and knowing that I’ll find a way to have some space. I enjoy this race for sure.
The intensity and variety of the blankets “keeps me strong,” Curry said.
The benefit and wisdom of staying tuned to the latest critical chatter is much harder to see – So how much bounty do you have left, Steph? – but maybe that’s another green light Curry won.
“If you take up spaces that people never thought you could, there will always be attempts to try to explain it,” Curry said. “It comes with the territory. But I like to have fun with it.
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