Curry returns Saturday – what to expect
Steph Curry will make his return on Saturday against Detroit Pistons in Little Caesars Arena. The two time MVP should be fit and ready to launch the Warriors back into first place in the West.
Steph Curry began the season with a tenacious attack on the MVP title shooting his best since winning season 2015/16. With Steph returning the whole dynamics of the team shifts, and it elevates the game with him on the floor.
Curry has missed the last 11 games – almost half of the games played this season – and he has been sorely missed.
Since the captain got injured the Warriors have won 5 and lost 6. At the same time, all hell broke loose only four days after the Curry departure, when Green and Durant had a heated argument on the bench in Staples Center facing Clippers.
Instantly Curry was rushed back to the bench to support the team and create atmosphere. And he has stayed there.
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What can we expect from return?
Curry is shooting his best since championship season 2015/16. He then averaged 30.1 points per game, and he hasn’t been close ever since. But, this season he started off like a torch, and in his first 12 games, he pulled close with 29.5.
Both his FG% (.515) as well as 3P % (.492) are the best of his career – of course considering this is merely 12 games. But still, Curry has been on fire from the get-go this season, and he has a history of just launching again after recovery.
If Curry keeps his pace from the first 12 games, he will pass 2000 points at the end of regular season. He has only scored more than 2000 points once in the entire season in 2015/16 (2375 points that season).
More than stats
But Curry is a lot more than just stats. Some things you can’t track and trace to the same degree. For instance, he brings joy to the roster. So many Warriors players have through the years told media that they were playing to have fun. This accumulates from Curry!
No doubt about it. None of these players would ever say this playing for another franchise. And you don’t hear that many players, in general, using that level of wording.
Curry sparks a light when he enters the court, and he makes everyone enjoy the game even more. His splash brother Klay Thompson is under the direct influence of the much-beloved point guard. Curry makes Thompson move better.
No one circles the court like Curry, and Thompson’s game suffers when he’s not around. Durant has the ball a lot in the absence of Curry, and the pace of the ball slows down dramatically because of dribbling and pull up jumpers. That slows Klay and decimates his catch and shoot game.
5 shooters the Warriors can trade for with Korver off the block. dark. Next
Curry’s return is highly anticipated, and as usual, we expect him to go off immediately. Pistons will be first row to witness, whether he continues where he left 11 games ago.