Stop giving Stephen Curry excuses. He looked fine in Game 2, and in Game 6 against Portland. No one would protect LeBron James like this. Curry should just be tougher. This is Curry's fault.
NBA playoff scores 2016: Stephen Curry overcomes everything to keep the Warriors alive
Curry had struggled mightily in the past two games, particularly Game 4, but his huge showing on Thursday proved Golden State still has a chance.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The internet maelstrom caught Curry on Wednesday, sweeping him away in a rush of wild takes and disparaging thoughts. Curry had played two awful games (by his standards), the Warriors fell down 3-1 after two blowouts in Oklahoma City and suddenly the greatest regular season team ever was on the verge of losing before they even made it to the NBA Finals.
There was no concrete way to explain the baffling fall from grace, but some reasonably suggested that Curry was still injured from his first-round knee sprain. A good case was made that Draymond Green’s struggles were dragging Curry down with him. Somehow, these hypotheses -- not answers, not even really defenses, just desperate attempts to explain something no one expected -- turned back on Curry. He was blamed for them! There’s no way to know how aware Curry was on Wednesday of the criticism being extensively lobbed his way. Either way, he responded the way he has his entire career: on the court by putting the ball through the basket.
In a 120-111 win of Game 5, Curry led the way against the Thunder. His scoring explosions are more fun, but his team-high 31 points were much more helpful spread throughout the game, with Curry consistently dropping in buckets when Golden State needed them the most. He shot 9-of-20 from the field, hit all of his 10 free throws, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists. He turned the ball over five times but made up for it with five steals of his own. To ice the game, Curry picked Kevin Durant's pockets, killed most of the clock and then drove right through Oklahoma City's defense for a clinching bucket. "We ain't going home," Curry yelled into the crowd immediately afterwards.
Curry rips Durant and then finishes the play with the crazy lay-up. https://t.co/OUOrnSPS0m
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 27, 2016
There’s incredible irony to the Curry criticism preceding this game. There’s a good chance Curry has never given an excuse his entire life. After Game 4, certainly, he brushed away anything that would excuse his play.
“No, I’m fine,” Curry said curtly, asked if he wasn’t completely healthy.
“I’ll be better,” he said in another answer. “The last three games it’s gotten away from us. A lot of that falls on my shoulders.”
The media never gave excuses for Curry, nor did Curry take them, and he was blamed for them anyway. He was a choker, a fraud, a player whose team was finally showing its true self. Even after Game 5, he still may not be healthy and he’s definitely not feeling his best. But he came through anyway, somehow, some way.
Golden State’s season isn’t saved, not yet. Game 6 will heavily favor the Thunder, who have owned this series even in their losses. The Warriors may have won Game 5, but it was hardly decisive, and the home crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena rivals Oracle Arena for home-crowd advantages. But Curry, MVP of the league and nominal best player in the world, reasserted himself on Thursday, even through all the noise surrounding him. If there’s anything that should give the Warriors hope to win three straight and the series, it’s that.
2 more things from Game 5
Andrew Bogut and the Warriors' big men problem
Curry's early struggles aside, the biggest problem for Golden State has been their front court. Green has been discussed ad nauseam, but the other Warriors bigs have been just as bad: Andrew Bogut, barely playing; Ezeli, too easily a victim to hack-a-Festus; Mo Speights, too streaky; Anderson Varejao, too all-around bad. On Thursday, Golden State finally got help from the back court, arguably winning the fight against Serge Ibaka and the foul-ridden Steven Adams for the first time all season.
Bogut’s first half was gigantic, with Steve Kerr finally extending his minutes and giving him real playing time. He scored 10 points with eight rebounds in those opening 24 minutes, a huge boost for Golden State even though they arguably should have played him sooner. (The only good stretch for the Warriors in Game 4 came coming out of halftime with Bogut on the floor.) Of course, Speights wouldn’t let Bogut stand alone as the only productive Warriors big: he came in and scored 14 points on seven shots in nine minutes, dropping in points from all over the floor as he is prone to do. Even ol’ Ezeli hit a couple free throws at the line after being fouled in a brief stint.
The Warriors needed this. Oklahoma City’s small ball annihilated Golden State in the previous two games, and they couldn’t lose playing both big and small. On Thursday, they didn’t, finally striking back with that big unit. For them to win this series, that has to continue.
This is Oklahoma City’s series to blow
Come on, though. You watched Game 3 and Game 4. You saw how soundly the Thunder dominated Golden State. Curry and Green may not be that bad together for two straight games for the rest of their lives, but that shouldn’t matter. The Thunder obliterated Golden State in those last two matchups, so much so that that duo could play significantly better and they still should win convincingly.
At home, with the roaring crowd behind them and the momentum of hanging in Game 5 until the very end despite it seeming like Golden State’s to win the entire time, Oklahoma City has to close this out. And they can. They’re the favorites in this series still and clearly should be. They’ve won nearly every quarter and shown at every step they’re the better basketball team. They have the greatest regular season team on the ropes, and it would be horrendous to see them lose it here. Game 6 is theirs to win.
2 fun things
Play of the night
Three defenders? JUST THREE DEFENDERS? Come on now, you know better.
Final score
Warriors 120, Thunder 111 (Golden State of Mind recap | Welcome to Loud City recap)
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Can OKC end Golden State’s historic run?
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