Stephen Curry hasn't looked himself in the Western Conference Finals. All of the things that made him special during the season that won him a first time ever unanimous MVP award seem to not be as effective. Curry is usually able to move around the perimeter with ease, even if being thronged by a defender.
He has an uncanny ability to get off a quick shot while on the move, he has an almost unstoppable high-arcing floater, and his range seems almost limitless. Curry's game on the offensive side of the ball has been so phenomenal, that some started to wonder if he is beginning to change the way the game is played.
But this series has been another story. What we've seen is Curry blowing point blank layups, getting his shot blocked on the perimeter by Steven Adams, several time after not being able to get around him, missing many of those long-range bombs he's used to making with what looks like little to no effort at all, and an inability to keep up with the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s point guard, Russell Westbrook. Granted most of the league has an issue with the latter, but it's all magnified as the Golden State Warriors are on the verge of elimination.
Curry shot just 6-of-20 in Game 4, and 7-of-17 in Game 3. This has all led to speculation that Curry has still not fully recovered from his previous injuries sustained in the playoffs. However, both Curry and coach Steve Kerr disagree with the speculation and left no room for it to spread any further. Curry told reporters at the postgame press conference:
I’m fine. I’ve just got to play better. … This is a tough situation to be in, but the series isn’t over. In our locker room it’s obviously frustration, trying to figure out how we can get back to being ourselves. … So, excited about that.
Kerr also cleaned up anything else misunderstood about Curry's injuries:
He’s not injured. He’s coming back from the knee, but he’s not injured. He just had a lousy night. It happens, even to the best players in the world.
If there are any injuries lingering, they'll never tell you, so it's up to you whether you believe Curry and Kerr, or if injuries will be one excuse why the 73-9 Warriors couldn't get past a flaming hot Thunder team.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/video-russell-westbrook-gets-back-draymond-green-kick-shot/”]NEXT: Russell Westbrook got back at Draymond Green with kick out on his shot[/button]
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