In the Heat game, Curry only scored 9 points on 3-of-17, but the Warriors still played team basketball to the extreme; however, two days later, during the visit to Dallas, Curry was once again inaccurate. From the last game to today's second quarter before the layup with 2 minutes and 39 seconds left, Curry suffered 14 consecutive irons, which also tied Curry's personal record. And Curry only got 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 turnovers in the whole game, this time with Curry's misalignment, the Warriors also lost the target, they scored a total of 82 points in Dallas, which is the Warriors' season low!
Curry missed the whole team, and the Lone Ranger's defense was tested
8-of-41 in two consecutive games and 2-of-19 outside the three-point line, why would Curry suddenly miss the accuracy? It can be said that this is a microcosm of Curry's performance in the past month. Ever since Curry approached breaking Ray. At the beginning of Allen's three-point record, Curry seemed to be in a "magic trap", and his personal offensive efficiency has been very tight; there has been a slight recovery around Christmas, and recently it has become more and more outrageous, and the basket is about to be played into a quadrilateral by Curry. Opponents have also been increasing the intensity of Curry's defense, and many teams have taken unlimited changes to play the Warriors at the beginning of the season, but now they have begun to put on a lot of bags, and his shots are getting more and more difficult.
Of course, in the long season, it is normal for players to have ups and downs in their state; and Curry's first month of the season is indeed too accurate, and it is only natural that his current state has declined. But if the previous few games, Curry's state declined, and the team was affected by injuries, the start changed every day, Curry also needed to re-adapt to the surrounding environment; then now when the Warriors' players have successively lifted the health and safety agreement, Buddha is close to returning, Wiseman has also begun to go out with the team, and the Warriors' injury list is about to be cleared, Curry's recent performance is a bit confusing to all parties.
In previous games where Curry was inaccurate, Wiggins and Poole could often stand up, and Bjelica, Porter, Iguodala, and Dream Green could also share Curry's scoring pressure. But in this game, Porter and Iguodala continued to rest in rotation; while Wiggins, although still shooting more than 50%, shot less, 7 of 13 and scored 17 points. Poole also lost his crosshairs in this game, scoring 6 points on 0-of-4 from outside the three-point line, and in order to prevent Poole from being ordered by Doncic on the defensive end, Cole only gave him 24 minutes of playing time. Except for Payton Jr., who had 11 points and 11 rebounds on 5-of-5 shooting, played beyond normal, and most of the Warriors' players did not perform as expected.
So why was the Warriors' entire team missing the game in Curry? It can be said that they play too badly, or they can say that the lone ranger is too good at defense. In the past, under Carlisle, the Lone Rangers were a strong and defensive team, but after Kidd took over, the Lone Rangers' defense has improved significantly, and in the past 5 games, the Lone Rangers have limited their opponents' points to less than 96 points, and in the last three consecutive games they have limited their opponents to below 90 points, and now this Lone Ranger is more balanced than in Carlisle's time.
Behind Wiggins' lack of attention may be related to the Warriors' long-term plans
In the fourth quarter of the game, Wiggins took 5 points in a row to catch up with the point difference; when the whole team did not feel good, and Wiggins felt good, it was reasonable to say that Curry should be allowed to hold on to the side and leave it to Wiggins to attack. However, after Wiggins scored 5 points in a row, the ball returned to Curry and Dream Green, and while Curry kept making mistakes and hitting iron, Wiggins couldn't even get the ball, which was very unreasonable. The reason why Wiggins does not have the ball is related to the Warriors' team building strategy.
Two days ago, In an interview with the US media, Cole said that after the buddha's comeback, he would create a lineup combination with Curry, Klay and Poole as the core. Among the players cole did not talk about, the positioning of Dream Green and Looney is also beyond doubt; Dream Green is both the defensive gate of this team and the offensive commander. As for Looney, before Wiseman grew up, he was the only reliable center on this team... But Cole's words actually reflect Wiggins' awkward positioning from the side.
In the eyes of most people, Wiggins is the Warriors' best outside defender and the number two scorer outside of Curry. Before the return of the Buddha, the tactical position of The Mouth Brother in the Warriors should be second only to Curry and Dream Green. But in the Warriors' system, The Mouth Brother has never been given the right to shoot matching his efficiency and game contribution. And last summer, the Warriors did not take two lottery draws to exchange for immediate combat power, but used two lottery draws, selected Kuminga and Moody's two fronts, perhaps indirectly reflecting that the mouth brother may not be in the Warriors' long-term plan.
The Warriors have been ranked first in the league in salary for two consecutive years and are required to pay a $170 million luxury tax this year. At present, the team building principle of most teams in the league is basically three maximum salaries + one or two middle class (or slightly more than the middle class) + a group of basic salary team building models (Lakers, Nets, Bucks, Nuggets, 76), or two maximum salaries + a group of 1, 20 million (Clippers, Suns, Jazz); and like the Warriors, the team building model of 4 high-paid players is rare, so in the long run, unless someone is willing to accept a sharp salary cut, the Warriors will definitely have to reduce a maximum salary. In curry's future has been bound to the Bay Area, dream Green's own contract is already worth enough, Buddha's contract will not expire until the summer of 24 years, This summer will face the player option of Wiggins, it is almost impossible to get the top salary in the Warriors, which means that his future is not necessarily in the Bay Area, the Warriors may have long been ready, the future can not retain Wiggins' preparations.
The return of the Buddha may not solve the problem of strong attack, and the Warriors' biggest goal in the championship is still in the grasp of the key ball
Now that the Warriors have thought about leaving the team after Wiggins jumped out of his contract this summer, this may be the reason why Kerr said that he wanted to build a team around the Splash Brothers and Poole. So even from the perspective of offensive efficiency and athletic ability and other factors, the mouth brother is the most outstanding point of this warrior's strong offensive ability, but when it comes to key moments, Wiggins's tactical role is very much like a marginal person. In addition to the final stage of the Game of the Suns, the Warriors used Curry's gravity to give the key ball to Porter to end, and in most games, whether it was a key ball or a headwind ball, it would still be handed over to Curry to handle.
However, the biggest gap between Curry and Durant, James, alphabet, compared to Butler, DeRozan, and Middleton, who is obviously one level lower than him, is that due to his stature, Curry's shooting point is more likely to be interfered with, and his ability to create damage is lacking. And the same small guard, Curry is not as explosive as Morant's physical fitness, his style of play even if he rushes in may not be able to reach the whistle, the Warriors' current biggest problem is the lack of strong offensive ability.
After playing the Lone Ranger, Cole said that when the Buddha returned, he would get a lot of empty seats. Even if I haven't played in two years, no one worries about the Buddha's grasp of the vacant seat. However, in the case that Buddha's no-ball play may not be able to solve the problem of strong attack, who will play the tactical role of Durant in this Warriors?