Curry's 41 points in win over Blazers stamps Warriors' perfect preseason
Start the season, Steph's ready.
And the preseason ended much as it began, with the Golden State Warriors using the Portland Trail Blazers as a sparring dummy to practice their finishing moves on.
119 to 97 was the score as the Dubs poured it on in San Francisco and wrapped up their exhibition season with the undefeated record of 5-0. One could even say that when it came to the preseason, the Warriors had 5 on it.
I’ve used a lot of words to praise the growth and cohesion of the squad during the greatest preseason in the history of the NBA. But all that doesn’t happen without the power generated by their superstar, Wardell Stephen Curry II.
STEPH BACK WITH STEP BACKS
This new era of basketball has been center stage for the hoopers who use nifty footwork to get seperation for 27 -oot shots. We know the stepback isn’t a new thing; guys like Larry Bird was getting busy with it back in the 80’s, no doubt.
Buuuut with all due respect… these new ballers are doing things with the step-back on a regular basis that are at skill levels which were unimaginable before.
Don’t you love watching Steph skipping around 30 feet from the basket forcing the defender into the deadliest of basketball dances?
No not that one. This one.
That dance: where playing “good defense” means getting yo-yoed into no man’s land until the Unanimous One decides to shoot your face off and get the highest point-per-shot possible. 41 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 30 minutes for Steph. There’s something about playing Portland that seems to light Steph’s fuse as this was just a friendly reminder of his never ending barrage against the Pacific Northwest. His jumpshot can’t seem to miss against ‘em.
It’s the threat of the Curry-type shots that has shaped the NBA’s long-range shooting revolution, and with wack rules that severely limit the defender’s ability to even breathe on you (unless you’re Curry getting mauled) it’s tougher than ever to stop elite guard skills.
Elite like C.J. McCollum who got busy for Portland as another ballhandler with tremendo range who can sometimes approximate a bit of that Curry experience, although not quite as consistent as his unguardable teammate Damian Lillard who missed this game for rest.
You know who else is swimming in those deep waters out there as a spicy perimeter hooper? Steph disciple Jordan Poole.
But at the end of the day there’s still nobody doing it like the original Babyfaced Assassin himself, still blowing the roof off arenas in year 13.
Okay DNHQ, coming up next is a very special E1P from the legend Apricot to break down a crazy play design from last night that ended with Curry hitting a 4-point play…stay tuned!
KOJ not even a starter for the Hornets......
Chriss waived now too.