Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Second-Round Loss To Spurs
By Andy Serbe
4. Stephen Curry has cemented his superstardom
May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts against the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT
Curry caught fire in the regular season, scoring 22.9 points per game, dishing out 6.9 assists per game and shooting 45.3 percent from three-point-range. That’s the second-highest percentage for the season in the NBA, behind Atlanta’s Kyle Korver, who is a much lower volume shooter.
Those statistics already had people talking stardom for this young player, and then the playoffs happened. His statistics went up. He averaged 23.4 points in both rounds, averaged 8.1, including a playoffs-leading 9.3 in the first round. Even his free throw percentage, which is third All-Time behind Steve Nash and Mark Price, went up from 90 percent to 92.1 percent.
Curry literally stepped onto the playoff court and stepped up his already amazing game. Without him, as mentioned before, this team looks very different. He’s an elite shooter and a game-changing offensive force. He steps onto a court, and teams have to immediately readjust how they handle the Warriors defensively. He’s fast, he’s lethal inside and he’s taken floater shot that sometimes defies logic when it goes in. And on top of all that, he passes exceptionally well. He’s exhibited a nice left handed no-look pass that tends to fly to a partner on a fastbreak or to a teammate in the corner for a three-point shot.
This all isn’t to say he’s infallible, though. He averaged 3.1 turnovers each game during the season, which saw a small bump to 3.3 during the playoffs. They also seem to sometimes come at extremely bad times in games (see that 10-turnover quarter they had). He can take some poorly selected shots on occasion, although his pure shooting skill can put them in the basket at times. He’s a young and inexperienced player, and as the star of the team, he can hurry himself. To cap off, his defense needs quite a bit of work. These are all things that should improve with age. Stephen Curry isn’t perfect, but no superstar is.
What this all amounts to is an incredible young player who has already put himself on an all-time list. At this rate, he’s bound to put himself on more. He put his team on his back, and boosted his game during the playoffs. What’s more, he’s about to enter his first fully healthy offseason to work on his game since his rookie year. Top off the year he’s had with that idea, and it’s quite clear: Stephen Curry is the newest NBA superstar. And he’s here to stay.