Six minutes and 46 seconds had passed before Steph Curry took his first shot Friday night against the Phoenix Suns, missing a 3-pointer that rolled around the rim before falling out. Curry is known for his optimism, but after the Warriors’ 130-105 loss to the Suns, he was realistic.
Not taking many shots in the first quarter is never a good sign. The Warriors were down by 11 points at halftime, with Curry having only five shot attempts.
“There’s an understanding of motion offense to try and use gravity at times,” Curry said in the Warriors’ locker room after the game. “You try and get on the ball at times. The defenses have kind of shifted a little bit more consistently to try and take away off-ball stuff. And it was a slow start tonight, which, that can’t happen.”
“It’s on me, it’s on all of us to try and figure out how to get the ball moving, create good shots and use all the threats we have in this room. It did not go as planned tonight. I don’t ever want to be in a situation where you get five shots in a half. That’s not good basketball.”
Curry’s first two points came in a one-on-one situation where Curry outplayed his defender.
Those two points had nothing to do with running around the court. Andrew Wiggins grabbed a missed 3-point attempt by Royce O’Neale, dribbled down the floor, and passed the ball to Curry at the top of the arc.
With Bradley Beal guarding him closely, Curry held the ball low, faked left, faked right, then went around Beal to his left and finished with a finger roll over Mason Plumlee.
Should there have been more urgency to get Curry the ball earlier?
“It should have been that a little earlier,” Curry said. “But also, you know that there’s going to be attention on the ball. Try to go pick-and-roll, try to get in the seams, try to create looks off of that. Obviously, our struggle – that’s our, mine included – in the paint when we get an advantage trying to capitalize, to make teams have to honor that, that’s been a struggle.”
Warriors are struggling
The Warriors are struggling with finishing near the basket. On shots within four feet Friday night, they made 10 of 24 attempts. The Suns, on the other hand, made 16 of 18.
Curry’s comments about the Warriors’ offensive issues match what he had to say about the upcoming NBA trade deadline on Feb. 6: Anything to win. Curry’s focus is on winning, and he’s not going to disrupt the team, but the urgency to improve is clear.
Curry isn’t one to publicly create problems, but this season he has made more headlines, like calling the Warriors “mid” to close out the 2024 calendar year.
“That’s not for me to make those decisions,” Curry said when asked if he wants to see a trade happen. “I want to win, so whatever it means to do that.”
Before the Warriors lost by 25 points to the Suns, Steve Kerr gave his most blunt assessment of the team. He enjoys coaching the Warriors and likes working with the players, but he was also realistic about their current situation.
Kerr was asked if the Warriors have enough talent to be a playoff team. He confidently said yes, but then acknowledged the reality of their current standing.
A few hours later, after entering the month with a 16-16 record, going through it with a 8-8 stretch, and ending it at 24-24, the Warriors were back to being .500.
“We’re not in a position where we can just say, ‘No, we’re good. Let’s stand pat.’ That’s the reality of where we are,” Kerr said. “[Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy’s] doing his due diligence, doing his job. If there’s something that makes sense. He’s going to do it.”
The day before, Kerr acknowledged that talent wins out. As a nine-time champion, he has always emphasized the importance of culture and continuity, but he also mentioned that Curry could use a second scoring option.
Curry’s voice matters
Just 48 hours before getting blown out by Phoenix, the Warriors were riding high after defeating the top team in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder, even without Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga. However, OKC was missing Chet Holmgren, and Alex Caruso got injured early in the game.
In that win, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 52 points on the Warriors, including 21 in the first quarter and 31 in the first half. The Warriors got 18 points from Kevon Looney and 15 points from Gary Payton II. Was that performance a model the team could rely on to make a playoff run?
Looney’s 18 points matched his career high from March 2023. The eight free throws he made were two more than his previous career high. Payton’s 15 points were three more than his season-high, and it was the most he had scored since another 15-point game in October 2023.
The NBA is driven by its players. Superstars lead the way, and they usually get what they want. Some superstars are vocal about their desires, regardless of the impact on the team, but Curry is not one of them.
He knows his voice matters, and it’s being heard right now.
“Y’all will never know about that,” Curry said when asked if he would push the front office for what he wants. “We have conversations all the time. I want to win. Again, that’s not my job. I’m not a coach, I’m not a GM, I’m not an owner.”
“It’s pretty clear where I stand on trying to make whatever necessary adjustments there are to win.”
