Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry had a bad Game 5 on Monday night, but veteran commentator Stephen A. Smith is not convinced it is because of the Boston Celtics' defense.
Curry went 0-of-9 from 3-point line in the contest, finishing with just 16 points along with four rebounds and eight assists. It ended the Warriors guard's streak of 233 straight games with at least one triple, and sure enough, the talk has been about how the Celtics stopped Curry and figured out a way to stop him despite their eventual loss.
Smith, however, is not buying that narrative.
Article Continues Below“Steph Curry was 0-for-9 last night from 3-point range, I counted at least four 3-point shots where he was wide open. He just missed, it happens. He’s the greatest shooter God has ever created. I've never seen anybody shoot the basketball like him. He’s entitled. It happens, OK? I’m not worried about that at all,” Smith shared on First Take.
“We came into last night’s game fresh off a 43-point performance by Steph Curry in Game 4 on 14-of-26 shooting–7-of-14 from 3-point range, averaging 34 [points] on 50 percent shooting from the field and 49 percent shooting from 3-point range. What the hell do you mean figured him out? One game, because he missed? All of a sudden they figured him out? That is just idiotic. For anybody who would think that, it’s idiotic.”
Stephen A. Smith certainly makes a great point. It is definitely an exaggeration to say that the Celtics have figured out Stephen Curry because of just one bad performance. As the sports analyst highlighted, Curry dominated Boston in the four games prior to Monday's contest.
Even Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was not worried about the poor play of his superstar. As he said, given how well Curry had been shooting for the Dubs, he's due to have a bad game sooner or later.
Looking past Curry's performance, the Celtics should definitely be more concerned about how they lost the game even with the sharpshooter playing that badly. Certainly, they cannot afford to do the same thing come Game 6 where it could spell the end for them.
“What the hell do you mean ‘figured him out?’ One game because he missed, all of a sudden they figured him out? That is just idiotic.”
—@stephenasmith is not buying that Steph’s poor shooting was because of Boston’s defense, rather than Curry was just having a bad game. pic.twitter.com/I7gkxTc08a
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 14, 2022