Don't blame injuries for Steph Curry's struggles
Stephen Curry, the back-to-back MVP, went off during a two-minute stretch in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals to give the Warriors a critical victory and tie the series at 1-1 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In those two minutes, Curry posted one of his patented scoring flurries, scoring 15 straight points with a spellbinding arsenal of shots that featured unparalleled long-range accuracy and close-range agility.
It was Curry, the roundball revolutionary, at his finest.
Was Curry 100 percent healthy for that impressive, game-winning individual run? Probably not. But his injured right ankle and sprained right MCL didn't get in the way of domination.
Tuesday night, Curry didn't look anything like the player who put up arguably the greatest offensive season in the history of the league. He was pressing his shot, his legs looked shot themselves, and he couldn't create any offense for himself or his teammates as Oklahoma City ran to an emphatic 118-94 Game 4 win.
Was Curry 100 percent in the contest where he shot a lowly 30 percent from the field? Probably not.
But there's no reason to believe that Curry's health has changed for the worse in the week between those two vastly different contests. Steve Kerr said as much after Game 4, denying that Curry is injured. "He just had a lousy night," the Warriors coach said.
Health didn't stop Curry in his poor performance Tuesday, just as it didn't stop him from taking over and winning Game 2. He might not be 100 percent, but that diminished number is normalized, and neither Curry nor those defending his poor performance can use the MVP's health as an excuse.
Instead of blaming the ineffable and promoting the unprovable, let's instead credit the Thunder.
Isn't it plausible that Curry's legs look shot because the Thunder have spent the past two games attacking him when he's on defense? Chasing around Russell Westbrook has to be high on the list of most tiring activities on the planet.
And isn't it also plausible that Curry's difficulties creating offense for his teammates and himself stem from the fact that the Thunder have defended him to near perfection? Save for that two-minute lapse in Game 2, the Thunder have thrown the kitchen sink at Curry: They've trapped him at half court and have doubled him off pick-and-rolls; they've thrown two, sometimes three bodies at him when he's played off the ball; they've strategically used a hack-a strategy to keep him from developing any shooting rhythm; and when he does get a look at the basket, he's often found an infinitely long Kevin Durant, another 7-footer or Westbrook leaping at him.
This is just awesome defense by Adams. pic.twitter.com/et1IIm9T3d
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 25, 2016
The Thunder have implemented a perfect game plan with the perfect personnel. Injured or not, when the defensive scheme was slightly off and the personnel was incorrect, or worse yet, lazy, Curry showed that he could take advantage. But the former hasn't happened but for a few moments in this series, and that — not Curry's knee or ankle — is the reason OKC is one win away from the NBA Finals.
