(Note: This article is a translation of Ric Bucher, does not represent the views of the translator and the platform, the relevant data statistics date is January 28, 2022)
Earlier this season, Stephen Curry's greatest accomplishment was becoming the greatest shooter in NBA history, surpassing Ray Allen's career record for three-pointers.
Perhaps not coincidentally, he has been trying to live up to this lofty status ever since.
Curry has the lowest shooting percentage this season in his 12-year career (Curry's total number of games played in 19-20, not included in the statistics) for a number of reasons, one of which is that pursuing this goal may have hurt him.
"I don't want to miss the chase," Curry himself admitted.
At the start of the season, Curry spoke about his desire to chase the record and made no secret of his desire to complete the task and what it meant for him. This is understandable, as early in his career, there were questions about whether his relatively thin stature and fragile ankles would prevent him from becoming a valuable professional player.
He hopes to lead these new faces to restore the Warriors to the same state they were when they won the championship a few years ago (although they lack several key familiar faces due to injury, health and safety agreements, etc.), but leading new faces also makes Curry a little difficult. Curry isn't the perfect scorer everyone expects, and rightly so.
Or at least for those familiar with Curry's shooting, like Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser.
Fraser said: "(Curry's low shooting percentage) there are a lot of factors at play, one of which is the way he moves on the pitch, different players come and go and make it difficult for him to adapt. And the way he defends and our varied squad has affected him.
"Second, his chase for that (3-point) title could have something to do with it, he's really chasing it. I do think it had a little impact on him. Everyone will get tired this season. Like most players, he's a little tired physically and mentally, but I think he's taking on a heavier burden on the team. ”
The burden has increased particularly markedly in recent weeks, with Drummond Green absent due to back problems and André Iguodala unable to attend full attendance due to sore knees. The two are the Warriors' main organizers, and their chemistry with Curry was crucial to creating curry's favorite outside shots.
Not only because Curry had to take on the extra task of organizing the offense for the rest of the team, but when he was ready to shoot, opponents were paying more attention to him than ever.
A recent warrior scout for an opponent said: "His shooting percentage in the confrontation has improved, he may just be a little eager to improve the shooting rate, he has always been a tough shooter, but he has to be patient." 」
"Draymond has made a lot of convenience for them. [His absence] was absolutely disastrous. I think that's probably the main reason Stephen desperately wants to shoot. ”
Or rather, he doesn't yet have a perfect performance to balance out the less brilliant ones.
Fraser said: "Draymond had a big influence on Stephen, whether he hit a shot or not, just shoot in the rhythm he is used to. Stephen is a rhythm player, but when he starts, he really starts. Draymond can get him to move sometimes, and he's an important part of that rhythm, and it's only when shooting that he has rhythm and feeling. When you know the ball is coming, you're in a state of readiness. When the time comes, things will be very different. ”
The timing wasn't right for the Warriors for most of the season.
Belched by their strong start, their offense as a whole was very inefficient. As a team, they rank 9th in shooting percentage and 11th in three-point shooting. While they are ahead of the rest of the league in assists, they are also second only to the Houston Rockets in terms of turnovers. Even last year's Warriors ranked higher than this year' rankings, ranking No. 5.
Thanks to their top defense, opponents' shooting percentage is limited to 42 percent, the league's first, which has always been the reason why Golden State's 35-13 losses.
That's not to say curry's going through a terrible shooting phase, it's just that the shooting percentage is neither up to his standards nor what everyone expects from the new top scorer.
In the 2019-20 season, Curry's shooting player injury left him playing only five games. But beyond that, his shooting percentage has never been below 46 percent or less than 41 percent. This season he shot 41.6 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range.
For Curry, he refuses to admit that environmental factors played a role, but he admits he did miss some empty shots.
Curry recently said, "Who cares about excuses? Either hit or don't hit. I think I'm going to have to shoot some balls. ”
The Warriors' schedule didn't help much. They have played three back-to-back games in a row since January and have not practiced consecutively at home, which has cost Curry some chances to score goals.
Fraser said: "It has nothing to do with Stephen's professionalism, but with our schedule. There's a clear line between rest, recovery, and training, all of which make his shots feel less like usual.
I wonder why he doesn't have the power to shoot outside the box he used to, he's shooting now a bit like an arm push, and now he hasn't fully resolved the situation until he finds that junction. He's realized he's using too much toe power when he shoots, and once he finds the feeling, he's found it back in training earlier this week, and then what everyone sees is the original Stephen. ”
Although Curry shot 2-of-10 from 3-point range in the Warriors' 38-point win over the Mavericks on Tuesday (U.S. time), Fraser was pleased with his performance.
Fraser said: "His shots are back to what I used to see, the ball appears in the right trajectory, the right rotation and arc, it's clean and it looks more natural. He had a good game and played very well. If he could play more time, he might get a triple-double. Although he missed some shots, I think it was good in other respects. ”
After two seasons out of the game due to injury, getting Klay Thompson back on the court is not a panacea for the Warriors on the offensive end. Thompson has been frank about his desire to be one of the league's most feared shooters again, but that wish hasn't been fulfilled, and his shooting percentage is also a career low, averaging 41.2 percent overall and 36.8 percent from three-point range.
Because of Green's absence, the challenge of getting the Splash Brothers to the best form also fell on Curry, which was more pressure than anyone else.
But Fraser said: "Stephen had to figure out how to understand and adapt to it all, he was a man. Even though he's an incredible shooter, he's human too. ”
(Ah Shuai)