Stephen Curry didn’t have to say it this time. When his shot from 26 feet out ripped through the net to give the Warriors an insurmountable 5-point lead, the raucous fans at Oracle Arena announced it for him: the MVP was back — back and hitting an ice-cold dagger off a ridiculous behind-the-back side-step move to help his team advance to the Western Conference Finals. Curry scored 29 points and dished 11 assists to close out the Portland Trailblazers in a game (and series) that was tight until the final moments. Damian Lillard and Co. definitely gained the Warriors respect in the hard-fought matchup, but Golden State gained the series-clinching win and the opportunity to have a few days of rest as they await the next round’s opponent.
1. After a slow and tentative start to the game, Steph chose an opportune time in the fourth quarter to bring that familiar MVP swagger to the court. Curry scored 14 points in the final frame, and helped thwart a spirited final run by the Trailblazers, who got 14 points from C.J. McCollum in that span. While the Blazers played hard early and fought back fearlessly late, the effort was not enough to overcome the Warriors’ home court advantage, the Death Lineup, the continued sharp-shooting of Klay Thompson, Draymond Green’s suffocating defense, and the return of Stephen Curry. The Warriors didn’t play particularly well in this game — especially defensively in the first half where multiple Blazers shooters were left open on miscommunication, poor execution and slow rotations — but the team did enough in the end to pull out the victory. Against OKC or the Spurs, the Warriors are going to have to clean up the mental mistakes and shore up the holes (open threes) in their defensive game plan to have a chance to advance.
2. Despite scoring 33 points on an absurd 13-of-17 clip, the incendiary nature of Klay Thompson’s night might not get its proper due. So let’s get the word out: Dude was on fire all game and was the only consistent scorer outside of Curry. Some of the shots he took were every bit as jaw-dropping as Curry’s. Only instead of amazing the crowd by taking shots off the dribble, Klay impressed by taking split-second catch-and-release shots over the outreached arms of defenders with zero air space. It’s truly indescribable to watch these two guys shoot in their own spectacular ways.
3. For the playoffs, Trayce Thompson’s brother is averaging 27 points per game on 47% shooting from the field and from distance. And he’s doing this while guarding otherworldly scorers like James Harden and Damian Lillard.
4. Closing out the series in five gives the Dubs a healthy advantage. With Steph still on the mend, Dray’s ankle acting up, and now Andrew Bogut sidelined by his hamstring, the extra time off will give everyone some time to heal.
5. Draymond picked up his fourth technical of the post-season. If he gets three more, he will have to serve a one-game suspension. But as we saw from Dray during the regular season, he knows to back off with suspensions looming.
6. Prior to the season, Portland was predicted to win fewer than 30 games by the experts. But somehow they just gave the Dubs everything they could handle in a not-quite-as-one-sided-as-it-
7. Throw it back to high school gym class for a second. Remember when basketball season would come around and everyone in PE would play ball for a few weeks? There was always that one guy who had clearly never played hoops before, maybe he was a soccer player or maybe he was from another country. Whatever the case, remember how that guy would play defense? He’d run around like a wild animal whose only goal was to chase the ball regardless of anything else happening on the court. Well, that’s how Anderson Varejao looked on defense last night. For some inexplicable reason, AV decided to trap hard on Lillard pick-and-rolls (and by “trap” I mean flail his limbs and hair about while not gaining any defensive advantage whatsoever), which repeatedly left his own man free to roam the paint. Two quick passes later and Al-Farouq Aminu or Allen Crabbe would be free to launch from the corner for an uncontested 3-pointer. I know AV used to be an energy guy with a penchant for hustle plays and getting under guys’ skin on defense, but those days are long gone after all the injuries. Varejao really shouldn’t be getting minutes in the playoffs unless the Warriors have a double-digit lead and the time remaining on the clock is single digits. Single digits in seconds, not minutes.
8. Harrison Barnes was a team-worst minus-7 with 8 points on 3-of-8 shooting. At least he had that one nice left-handed shot in the paint.
9. Steph Curry didn’t win the first unanimous MVP Award in NBA history because the league is watered down, but because people can now see who voted for whom. I can’t decide whether voter transparency in this case is a good or bad thing. You never want people voting a certain way because they’re scared of the public’s reaction (i.e. vitriol).
10. If you’re a Warriors fan, the ideal situation would be for the Spurs and Thunder to go seven with San Antonio eventually closing out the series in a hard-fought battle. Despite dropping a game to San Antonio, the Warriors have largely figured out how to stifle the Spurs Borg on defense while getting just enough scoring on offense. It’s those two slithery athletes in OKC that gives Golden State the bigger headache. Sure, the Dubs won every game against the Thunder in the regular season, but don’t forget one of those wins required a miracle Curry heave. Add in the fact that that OKC squad wasn’t quite as locked in on defense as what we’re seeing now and that this new iteration features a rebound-gobbling double-big Kanter-Adams lineup and it’s safe to say the Warriors will be in for a challenging series should the Thunder advance to the WCF. What I’m trying to say is: Go Spurs, go!