Stephen Curry stood in the center of the court, facing his own backcourt basket, his arms crossed, his face was not malicious, but pointed to the same Splash Brothers Klay Thompson, who just hit a key three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game to help the Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets 110-106. Curry's face is full of pride and empathy, and he understands what kind of arduous process his teammates have gone through to get back to this moment, but Curry's face also shows another emotion — relief.
Thompson said of his key three-pointers after the game: "It felt fantastic, I missed that feeling, it felt fantastic, it was a feeling I hadn't had in years, so whenever you hit a key shot in the game, it's going to work wonders for your confidence." ”
It's no secret that Curry has been doing poorly lately. Throughout January, he shot just 37 percent from the field and 31 percent from three-point range, which was simply unthinkable for the greatest pitcher of all time, and both he and head coach Steve Kerr admitted that part of the reason for the sluggish shooting was the enormous defensive pressure he faced every time he took possession.
The reason Curry is so great is not only that he has super shooting ability, but also because he is a rare selfless superstar who is willing to give up personal honor for the success of the team. That's why, despite Curry's struggles with shooting, the Warriors have soared this season, scoring as many as 114 points per 100 possessions while Curry is on the court.
But in the crucial moments, the situation is different, and those already suffocating defenses usually reach the point of desperation in the final moments, leaving Curry to rely on his teammates to get through the difficulties. While the Warriors performed well in key moments of the season (with a final 5-minute difference of 5 points), with a net rating of +12.5 (12.5 points per 100 rounds), this is largely due to the league's number one defense, in fact, their offensive performance at key moments is not good, only 103.1 points per 100 rounds, according to official NBA statistics, only ranked 20th in the league.
Curry's sluggish shooting has exacerbated the Warriors' difficulty scoring difficulties in key moments, shooting less than 30% of the total 70 minutes this season, and his three-point shooting rate is less than 20%, and the Warriors need a second person they can trust to hit key balls, and before Thompson returns, this person can only be Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Otto Porter Jr.
Thompson's comeback has solved this problem once and for all, he is the kind of player who gets sharper and sharper the more critical the moment, he is no stranger to shooting in tense and most important moments, and the Thunder, Rockets, Cavaliers and other teams that have been indispensable in the past decade have suffered big losses under him.
Wiggins, Poole and Porter performed well in the first three quarters of today's victory over the Nets, scoring a total of 57 points, but Thompson stepped up in the fourth quarter, and although he didn't perform well in the first three quarters, shooting just 2-of-11 and 1-of-7 from three-point range, watching him shoot confidently in the final minutes, you'd subconsciously think he's playing another game with 50 points.
With five minutes left in the game, Thompson found his familiar rhythm, hitting two mid-range jumpers, a key left-side three-pointer, and the final two free throws that definitively sealed the game. Nine of his 16 points were scored in the fourth quarter, which brought Curry and the rest of the Warriors back to a familiar time.
Warriors coach Kerr said after the game: "It was tough most of the time, but that's how Clay played in terms of shooting and free throws, that's how confident he was when he played. Even in a game where things don't go well, he has the ability to stand up and hit a shot in the game. ”
We've been watching throughout the season on how healthy Thompson will change the Warriors and thus the NBA's championship landscape, and he's slowly turning back into the league's two-way superstar before a series of devastating injuries, but Sunday's game has given us a glimpse of the exact reason why his Hopes for the Golden State Warriors to win the championship are so critical, and while the Warriors have been successful throughout the season piecing together an offensive system outside of Curry, we don't know how these role players and youngsters will react in the knockout rounds.
But we all know that Thompson is not afraid, his performance in key moments is still fresh in the memory of every Warriors player, no player in the league will forget how crazy he is in the face of adversity, even if his shooting feel is still sluggish, as long as he stands on the court, it will take the opponent's entire defensive center of gravity away from Curry's body, making the Warriors' offense more dangerous.