Much has been made about this season’s shooting struggles from Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. The two-time reigning NBA MVP recently had a span where he shot 18-for-76 from three-point range over the course of seven games. On March 18 against the Milwaukee Bucks, Curry made six-of-eight three-pointers, including a 30 foot-plus bomb that he drilled just a step inside of the Warriors home logo at the center of the floor in Oracle Arena.
On March 20, Curry and the Warriors visited Oklahoma City, a town that members of the team reportedly felt like didn’t treat star forward Kevin Durant with enough respect in his Feb. 11 return. Curry went against one of his budding rivals, Russell Westbrook, with maybe a little more ammo behind this meeting. Curry said in an interview that he thought that Houston Rockets guard James Harden should win this year’s MVP ahead of Harden’s former teammate Westbrook, despite the fact that the Thunder guard is on pace to average the second triple-double for a season in NBA history.
The Golden State Warrior star guard threw down an extremely rare two-handed dunk near the beginning of the game and gave his teammates a look of hunger as they cheered him on from the sidelines. The slump is over. Both Curry and Westbrook were involved in an on-court shoving match amongst both teams before halftime. After an even amount of technicals were handed out, the Warriors won the tip and guard Klay Thompson slung the ball up the floor to an open Curry, who sunk a three before holding his pose and running into the locker room for the mid-game intermission. The slump is over.
So now that the arguably second-best player on the planet is looking like his usual historical shooting self again, the question must be asked if the play will continue when Durant returns to action. The injured Warriors forward averages just under 18 shots a game, but Curry averages more than 18 himself and he set the statistic at a steady rate the entire year.
A lot of casual spectators may doubt the Baby-Faced Assassin in the games that matter most in June, but he might just be playing into his season’s peak at the right time, with or without Durant.
