Things I Liked
Stephen Curry
I mean, the man is ridiculous. He has come back from what could’ve been a bad ankle injury and has not missed a step. Look at these stats:
Assuming Steph isn't coming back in the game, here are his numbers in the past four games since coming back from his right ankle injury: 36 points while shooting 65.6 percent from the field, 53.8 percent from 3-point range and 89.6 percent from the free-throw line.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 6, 2018
Two of those performances have come without Kevin Durant, who is out with a calf strain. These games have been proof that Curry is not just back, but he’s also fully capable of carrying the load if KD is forced to miss any time.
A couple of signature Curry moments from this week: the first was hitting the game-winner over the Mavs …
The second came when he dropped 45 points in three quarters against the Clippers:
This is why I laugh whenever people try and claim Curry has taken a step back with Durant on the team. He hasn’t. He is having one of his most efficient seasons to date, and he’s more than capable of going into God mode.
Surviving Texas
It’s never easy to win on the road in the NBA. That’s why you can’t take this Warriors’ success for granted. They’ve made it look like it’s nothing, just pulling off 10 straight wins away from home, often without one or more of their stars.
To me, beating the Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back — after a win in Dallas that was way closer than it should’ve been — was the highlight of the week. Yes, it was a Rockets team without James Harden. But the Warriors didn’t have Durant. And they didn’t need him.
Curry was great, Klay Thompson continued to be consistent, and Draymond Green had a triple-double. When the Warriors play like that, they’re unbeatable. Even the Rockets, who some people think can compete with the Warriors, have no shot.