Do the Golden State Warriors still have a realistic chance of surely getting in this year’s NBA Finals?
Coming in the season, the defending NBA champions Golden State Warriors were hyped to make it big this NBA season. They were, in fact, forecasted by many to surely make it back to the finals before the season started.
For one, they already showed they can go deep in the playoffs with their roster. Two, they added another potent piece in addition to their already stacked up, intact roster last season. The Warriors got DeMarcus Cousins, who should be back playing come playoffs time.
So, it makes one wonder why they are struggling early in the season.
While I want to give a piece of my mind on what’s bugging them, I will leave that for another day and instead highlight a thing revealed by their early struggles.
Steph Curry is the Man!
It is time to end the debate on who is responsible for the games won by this squad full of superstars. It was clearly Stephen Curry before Kevin Durant arrived. It is still Curry today!
I always loved to dig in the numbers in sports and I am going to have full use of them in this piece. But I will combine it with the eye test today.
Here’s the first set of numbers I want to show why Curry should be the man:
(1) In the two years since Steve Kerr became coach and before Durant joined the Warriors, they were 140-24 in the regular season, including the 73-9 mystic and 31-14 in the playoffs, including a 1-3 comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder, that ironically includes Durant, in the Western Conference finals and losing a 3-1 advantage against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals. They are 125-39 when they had Durant.
(2) As of their loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they are 25-9 when Curry is on the floor and Durant is not. When Durant is and Curry is not, they are just a pedestrian 23-22.
(3) They looked familiar at the top of the Western Conference with 10-2 before Curry got hurt. They are now 12-7, dropping to fifth place. They lost four in a row, a first time occurrence during the Kerr coaching era, and had Durant and Draymond Green involved in a play-calling joust that resulted to a serious verbal tussle since he went down.
(4) Curry has two regular season MVP’s and a championship before Durant. It should have been two, had Andrew Bogut not been injured and Draymond Green not made the bone-headed decision of stepping over Lebron James that got him suspended for a crucial close out game. He did have two championships during the Durant era.
Clearly, the Warriors were a juggernaut during the Kerr coaching era, with or without Durant.
It could not be denied that the Warriors won two consecutive titles during the Durant era but I still see them with two had it was Harrison Barnes who was still there. It may not be just as easy pickings it as it was with Durant though. Here’s why:
(5) Comparing how the Warriors performed in the Barnes and the Durant seasons, the Warriors were +17.86 for every 100 possessions when Barnes was on the floor and were +18.02 when Durant is on the floor. (This amazing stat analytical comparison is from pbstats.com)
See how it’s not really that far. Of course, I am forgetting what Durant can do defensively and offensively against James that Barnes cannot because of skill, size and length.
Bottomline, Curry’s presence makes his team and teammates a lot better. His presence alone creates opportunities for his other illustrious teammates usually convert to points, something that in not reflected on the stat sheet.
Curry just simply knows how to blend with the presence of other superstars, some who might be better players than him, and still make his presence felt under the circumstances that lead to his team winning games.
It may be an unusual category to consider but I would absolutely use it in this MVP balloting case. Here’s why again:
(6) The Warriors are +14.76 whenever Durant is not playing. On the other hand they are just +4.92 when Steph is not.
Digging deeper, let’s see how Curry does without his other illustrious teammates:
(7) Without Durant and Klay Thompson: +13.90; without Durant and Green: +21.33; and without Durant, Thompson and Green: +14.29.
Let’s do the same for Durant;
(8) Without Curry and Thompson: +8.08; without Curry and Green: +0.58; and without Curry, Thompson and Green: -1.48
See the amazing swing! The Warriors are up 14.29 points for every 100 possessions when Curry plays without Durant, Thompson and Green.
They a down 1.48 points on the same scale when Durant plays without Curry, Thompson, and Green!
Curry can ball with anybody on the floor.
Curry may not be the best player but he is definitely the Most Valuable Player on that squad.
No wonder why the Warriors tendered Curry one of the richest contracts in NBA history. They couldn’t be any happier they will have the big presence of this little man for a few more years.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
