Stephen Curry makes 3-pointers look easy. With 6/10 of a second remaining in the tied game against OKC, Curry launched the ball more than 30 feet from the basket. Swish. It’s no longer question of will he make the shot; it’s how many times can he out do himself. Truth is, the only competition he has at this point is himself.
The Warriors’ win over OKC was another outstanding night for Curry who with 12 3s, tied the record for most 3-pointers in a game. Curry also broke his own record of 286 3-pointers last season with 288 3-pointers this season (which isn’t close to being over by the way).
The NBA Naysaying chorus is already attempting to discredit Curry’s skill and accuracy by saying he only gets those looks because of a lack of perimeter defense or a lack of physicality on the court. The truth is Curry makes buckets, he doesn’t throw bricks. “It’s starting to get a little annoying just because it’s kind of unwarranted from across the board,” Curry said. “We have a very competent group, and we have fun when we’re out there on the floor, and it shows, obviously. We enjoy what we do. But for the most part, you don’t hear us talking about, you know, comparing ourselves to other great teams and ‘We could beat this team, we’re better than this team.’ We’re living in the moment.”
Steve Kerr, Warriors coach, is also over the comparisons having said, “A player from any era would be unable to guard Steph Curry. It doesn’t matter who you’re talking about. No one could guard Steph Curry. He’s too quick, too skilled, too good. You can make all sorts of other arguments. In the ’90s, there were all types of dominant big men. There aren’t many these days, that’s true. The game was different then … There’s more ball movement, there’s more liked-sized players on the court. So things change, but I just can’t see how anybody would think that Steph would have been guardable 30 years ago, 20 years ago, whatever.”
Perhaps at the root of his individual success and the team success is just that. Instead of wasting time comparing himself to the next guy, he’s just playing ball. The speculation is getting old. Respect what the team has accomplished to this point because with a 53-5 record for the season with 24 games left to play, the Warriors have already secured a playoff spot. Speculate that.