National Basketball Association

Stephen Curry's struggles aren't the Golden State Warriors' biggest problem

Published Dec. 27, 2016 12:00 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Trade Stephen Curry!

That's about the level of Internet discourse in the wake of the two-time MVP's struggles against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day — struggles cast in an especially harsh light when Curry's point guard counterpart, Kyrie Irving, hit the game winner while Curry sat on the bench.

Curry finished with 15 points on 4-for-11 shooting and as many turnovers (3) as assists, the latest in a string of questionable performances. Simply put, the former on-court leader of the Golden State Warriors hasn't been the same since Kevin Durant came to town.

We should criticize Curry for his shortcomings, of course. When you're a superstar, there are no free passes, and Curry's performance of late has been the one obvious sticking point in an otherwise transcendent start to the season for the Warriors. Yet all the focus on Curry obscures the real issue in Golden State: When the title is on the line, who rounds out this "superteam"? Who's the Warriors' fifth player against the Cavaliers?

(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The NBA is the most predictable of the four major sports, a fact underscored by this very rivalry. We know what we're going to get from each team's "Big Four," to the point that you can close your eyes and almost see the game play out before you.

Curry, Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green bring finesse, shooting and just enough edge to make you want to punch someone. LeBron, Kyrie, Thompson and Kevin Love will break your will in isolation, somehow come together as a ridiculously cohesive defensive unit, and punish you on the glass if you dare go small.

The wild card, then, is each team's fifth player — and it's here that Cleveland has a decided advantage over Golden State.

Getty Images

Lost in Sunday's drama was the fact that the Cavs beat the Warriors without J.R. Smith, who won't be back for a couple months. When he's healthy, he's the starter, of course, bringing his unique mix of 3-point shooting, capable defense (when he wants to lock in, anyway) and "No, no, no, no ... YES!" moments with the game on the line. But Smith is just the beginning of Cleveland's depth on the wing.

Channing Frye can come in and torch the nets without sacrificing height. Richard Jefferson gives the Cavs defense and shooting, in that order — while also giving the team access to a mythological fountain of youth, apparently. Iman Shumpert exists, too, and DeAndre Liggins is emerging as a bigger, better version of Shumpert (and a bothersome defender in his own right).

None of them are stars, and that's fine; Cleveland has plenty of star power. All the Cavs need from their fifth man in crunch time is a player who will play his role to perfection, and they have multiple options.

Golden State's fifth, on the other hand?

In years past, the answer was Andre Iguodala. For all of the praise we rightly heap on Draymond Green for his versatility, the Warriors' small-ball approach wouldn't work without Iguodala. His basketball IQ, willingness to make the right pass and defensive ability allow Golden State to put its best five basketball players on the court, regardless of position. The Warriors trust they'll make up the size difference with superior decision-making and shooting. In the past, it's been a worthy gamble.

Unfortunately, we saw the 2015 NBA Finals MVP take a significant step back in last year's title tilt against the Cavaliers, due in large part to a creeping back injury. Although Iguodala seems healthy enough six months later, he's yet to bounce back to his pre-June form this season.

Against Cleveland on Sunday, in fact, he was a whisper of his former self. The usually decisive Iguodala was hesitant with the ball and unsure of his jump shot. Rather than a fluke occurrence on the biggest stage, however, that's become the norm for the former LeBron stopper.

If Iguodala isn't himself in a potential rubber-match Finals against the Cavaliers this season, Golden State will have a glaring weakness on both ends of the court just begging to be exploited by Cleveland. The Cavs will run Iguodala off the floor in transition and tilt its defense away from a player who's shooting just 31.5 percent on 3s this season, while LeBron will go to work against a player who no longer can guard the King.

And when — not if — the Cavs are successful in forcing a substitution, where does Steve Kerr turn?

JaVale McGee has been a nice piece for Golden State at times this regular season, but you probably can't play him in the Western Conference finals, let alone the NBA Finals. Zaza Pachulia? Good luck against Tristan Thompson, my friend. Ian Clark could have his moments, perhaps; maybe David West might steal a few minutes here or there; but all of these are scattershot solutions for a team in need of a precise answer to an acute problem.

Where the Cavs need wings who will execute the overarching scheme, the Warriors need one of two things from their fifth player: either a rim-protecting big who cleans up any mistakes committed by the perimeter defense (like that one guy who plays for Dallas now), or a jack-of-all-trades wing who can guard LeBron, Love or even Thompson in spurts, depending on what the matchup dictates. Neither of those players exists on this roster.

None of this is to say Curry has been great this season — or against the Cavs in general. The reigning MVP must be better, especially in the fundamentals. As the Warriors continue to run their offense through Durant, Curry has to commit to running his defender through screens, not around them. He probably needs to freelance a little less on defense, too, although it's always hard to judge what's a poor decision and what's an attempt to cover for someone else's mistake on that end of the court.

Those issues can and will be fixed. It's only December, after all. The Warriors are too good to let the little stuff sink their revenge tour. Yet the larger question in Golden State seems likely to go unanswered this season, and that spells trouble for the Warriors.