Warriors just gave Stephen Curry an unexpected reason for optimism

The Golden State Warriors got a nice victory in the first game of the regular season against the Los Angeles Lakers, winning 119-109 despite their superstar, Stephen Curry, not having his absolute best game.

That is a big cause for optimism for the Warriors after Curry had 23 points and made only three of his nine three-point attempts in just over 32 minutes played. It was not a signature Curry performance by any stretch of the imagination, but other players stepped up in a big way.

Stephen Curry does not have to do it all for the Warriors this season

Jimmy Butler was phenomenal, putting up 31 points on the night and regularly driving to the basket to draw fouls which got him to the free throw line where he was a perfect 16-for-16 on the night.

Buddy Hield was phenomenal as well as he got hot from beyond the arc, draining five of his 10 three-point attempts for the game to finish 17 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Jonathan Kuminga also stepped up for the Warriors, going for 17 points for the game which included 4-for-6 from three-point range after getting the start over Al Horford -- a big vote of confidence from head coach Steve Kerr.

Jonathan Kuminga also stepped up for the Warriors. He had 17 points for the game and went 4-for-6 from 3-point range after getting the start over Al Horford -- a big vote of confidence from head coach Steve Kerr.

This team performance was positive for a number of reasons, but first and foremost it allows Curry to take a deep breath and realize that he is not going to have to do everything himself this year.

There have been times in the past where it has felt like Curry has to go out there and be Superman every night for the Warriors to earn a victory. Even during those times, Curry is enough of a supreme talent that he has answered the bell and delivered the goods when he's really been the only reliable offensive weapon on the team.

The addition of Butler has opened things up for him and the rest of the team. We saw it last year as the team was clearly better as a whole following the Butler acquisition, and we saw it again on Tuesday night. Butler's ability to drive to the rim and score or get to the free throw line just takes pressure off everyone else on the team and especially Curry.

We know that Curry, as one of the main faces of the NBA, can still turn it on when required and can deliver a 50-point game should he need to. But the fact that this season it appears he will not be asked to put up MVP-like numbers repeatedly in order for the team to win should provide him, and the entire team, a huge sigh of relief.