The Golden State Warriors have gotten off to a rough start this year. The team is 2-3 through five games and has struggled badly against any opponent that isn’t terrible.
Warriors star Stephen Curry is averaging 26.4 points per outing this year, but he is doing it on 42 percent shooting from the field and 32 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The very thing that made him an MVP and allowed him to rule over the NBA for half a decade wasn’t the number of points he got, but his efficiency while doing it. That efficiency, for now at least, appears gone.
This week, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard offered his honest thoughts on Curry’s shooting woes and what is causing them.
“I think right now, with the injuries that the Warriors have been dealing with and Steph playing with a younger team right now, he’s seeing that it’s tough to get those quality looks right now,” Lillard said.
To Lillard’s point, it is much easier to secure clean looks when defenders are worried about leaving Klay Thompson open. It’s much harder when Kelly Oubre Jr., who is shooting 27 percent from the field and 4 percent from beyond the arc, is your running mate.
“It’s different than what it’s looked like over the last four or five years for him,” Lillard added.
LeBron knew exactly what to get Kevin Love for New Year’s. https://t.co/jQOII8u484
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 2, 2021
“He’s trying to get quality looks and get a clean look so he can make a good one. You don’t really have that luxury to take one from that deep just to be taking it like in the past he might have, and I’m the same, getting a lot of attention from defenses.”
On Friday night, Lillard and C.J. McCollum easily beat the Warriors 123-98.
Obviously the season is young and there is plenty of time for Curry and Co. to get their acts together, but for now at least, it looks like 2021 will be a rough year for them. Losing out on Giannis Antetokounmpo was a big blow for the organization, and unless they can find a comparable superstar by some other means, the road back to championship contention will be a difficult one.
Related: LeBron James’ Upside-Down, Theatrical Reaction To Missed Dunk (Video)
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
