Winners of six of their last nine, the Golden State Warriors have been able to get and remain hot because of Stephen Curry. Curry’s averaged more than 40 points per game over the team’s last nine games.
This stretch has come immediately following the team’s 53-point loss to the Toronto Raptors. With Curry as the main focal point behind it all, the Dubs are likely to play themselves into the play-in tournament.
The Golden State Warriors need to prepare for when Stephen Curry cools off, and it’ll be Kelly Oubre Jr. who must then step up.
Eventually, double and potentially even triple teams are going to be coming at Curry on a consistent basis. It’ll be on other players to step up and win them games, and one of them is 25-year-old Oubre Jr.
Oubre Jr. is averaging 15.2 points per game this season, down from almost 19 per game last season while in Phoenix. Oubre Jr. was inactive five of the past six games with wrist soreness. Upon his return, Oubre Jr. put up nine points in the Warriors’ win over the Sixers.
Prior to that five-game hiatus, Oubre Jr. has put up 19 or more points in three straight games. He shot over 53 percent from the field in that short stretch.
That said, we’ve seen Oubre Jr. win the Warriors games by himself. Just look back to his 40-point effort against Dallas for reference. When Curry starts to struggle or can’t get it going one night, Oubre Jr. is going to need to be that next man up.
He can finish at the rim and take his defender one-on-one. He’s going to get a big-time contract this offseason, and he can improve his stock even more if he can thrive alongside Curry over the last month of the regular season.
The Warriors are 2-0 when Oubre Jr. hits at least 27 points. If he can play that second fiddle that the Dubs were used to seeing Klay Thompson be, the Warriors should be an ultra-dangerous team in the postseason.
Golden State came into the season expecting big things from Oubre Jr. For the most part, his lack of consistent production has let them down, but there’s no denying the opportunity is still there for him to make a massive difference.