Stephen Curry must have really gotten to know the rims in Air Canada Center as a kid when Dell was playing for Toronto. The reigning MVP had 44 points on 24 shots, with a slew of clutch baskets in crunch time. Is it hyperbolic to say there are not enough words in the English language to describe what Curry and the Warriors are doing to the NBA right now? Are ooh and aahs considered words? That’s all anyone can say watching this team. 21-0 is beyond language.
Here are 10 thoughts from the game:
1) Curry had his seventh 40-point game of the season. The rest of the league has 15 (as of writing). Despite Klye Lowry playing the game of his life (41 points, 7 assist) the Warriors managed to beat a tenacious Raptors squad on the road. This team and this streak and this lights-out shooting is getting ridiculous.
2) Toronto GM, Masai Ujiri gives lots of fun quotes. Before yesterday’s game he told Jim Rome the key to stopping the Warriors was to pray to God. I think he was joking, but after Steph’s 9-15 shooting from threes, maybe not. Maybe diving intervention is the only legitimate strategy.
3) The Dubs are a little more vulnerable without Harrison Barnes. His scoring and ability to spread the floor is definitely missed, but more importantly, without HB, the small-ball lineup isn’t quite as effective. The 6’8″ ‘Barnes keeps the team big while going small, and he’s a much better shooter than Livingston.
4) Draymond Green’s 3-point percentage has come back down to earth after a blistering start. He’s 0-14 from distance in his last four games and defenses have stopped running out at him. But if he can keep up his current 38% for the season, that’ll be more than enough from the four spot.
5) My favorite three-pointer is the Chaos Three. When everything is helter-skelter, the Dubs always seem to get a big basket. At 8:59 in the first, Lowry gets his hand on the ball for an apparent steal, but the ball bobbles around before finding it’s way to Curry — left open in the scramble — who calmly sinks a three.
6) Cory Joseph has good body control. He had a couple of nice, strong drives, and a well-balanced jump-stop floater. How much of his $30 million contract should he donate to Spurs University and professor Tony Parker.
7) Did DeMarre Carroll foul Festus on purpose to prevent Klay from getting a wide open three in the third quarter? The foul meant side out of bounds as the Raptors weren’t in the penalty (Klay hit the shot after the whistle). Would you rather have a Klay or Curry open three-pointer or a foul? Can this become a strategy for opposing defenses?
8) Someone (Dwane Casey?) should tell DeMar DeRozan that getting Draymond on a switch and going one-on-one isn’t an advantage.
9) Marreese Speights’ poor defense really stands out on this Warriors squad. He got caught repeatedly in no man’s land, reaching for the ball while Raptors drove in the lane for layups and lobs. When his shot’s not falling (1-4 FG) and he’s turning the ball over (4), it’s really hard to justify his minutes, even sans Barnes. He finished with a team low minus-12. But I’m still holding out hope that contract-year Speights is going to have his moment.
10) With Drake in attendance, Stephen Curry did his Hotline Bling out there. That dance we’ve never seen before, the confidence and skill to pull it off, it’s performance art at the highest level. Someone put the highlights online for the world to see.