LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors followed a familiar process in almost all of their games last season, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row. If star guard Stephen Curry does well, the Warriors have a chance to win. If he didn't, neither did they. Even though the 33-year-old sits on the bench to rest as usual during the game, the team looks like an empty shell, not knowing how to function without his talent.
In Tuesday night's 121-114 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors' impressive comeback in the second half seemed to turn a new page. Curry still had a triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but with him shooting 5-of-21, the Warriors were able to win the game, showing signs of growth and hope at the start of this unpredictable season.
"It's a huge improvement," Warriors forward Draymond Green said. "We are very dependent on him and we will still be very dependent on him. When he could spend a night like tonight and not let the game go on, we still got the win and it was good. He still went on to do other things. He still went on to get doubles, grab rebounds, and he did all the things he needed to do to help us win, except for the shots we were used to. But I don't know if that's going to happen. ”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr noted after the game that while Curry didn't shoot as usual, he influenced the game in other ways, especially dragging defenders on the court and creating space for teammates. Curry seems impressed that his teammates were able to make up for his shortcomings in the absence of his ability to play on the court.
"Knowing that you can play the right game and see people's attention, whether it's a bag clip or a triple pack, to get rid of it, it means a lot to me," Curry said. "Everybody is either a threat to shoot or to make the right offense, to transfer the ball, to have a high IQ, it's huge. ... I think we're always talking about numerical superiority, how we play, how we create offense, depending on whether I can get attention, how I pass the ball. If everyone believes we don't know who it will be every night, we don't know if it's going to be their game, but everyone will contribute to that style and it should be a good season. ”
The Warriors entered the season first day with optimism as they believe the depth on the roster is stronger than it was a year ago — it's without former All-Star Klay Thompson (ACL and Achilles tendon rehabilitation) and James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick 2020 (meniscus repair), and he'll be back in the coming months.
Players like Andre Iguodala, Nemanja Bjelica and Damion Lee, as well as great play by third-year guard Jordan Poole, helped the Warriors achieve a win that might not have happened with Curry's performance last season. The Warriors' bench led the Lakers 55-29, and unexpectedly, Jessica and Lee each scored 15 points.
"I think our team has a good trust factor," Poole said. "It's not even group-oriented, it's just us as a whole. We believe in everyone. No matter what the lineup is, no matter what the group is. ”
It's a trust that Kerr can see coming together in an unbeaten preseason game where the Warriors are working together at a pace they couldn't have seen a year ago.
"I think we built confidence in preseason," Kerr said. "Obviously, we had 5 wins and 0 losses in preseason, but that's all over because the record doesn't matter. But we felt it in preseason — I really liked this team. But you still have to prove it, and I think when you go there for the first time every year on premiere night, you're going to be a little nervous and you have to overcome that hurdle.
"I couldn't even recognize the team I was watching in the first half. They're not the teams I've seen at camp for the last three weeks. In the second half, that's who we were – the pitch on the floor, the movement of the ball, the hits, no crazy, solid defense, so it was really a good win. ”
Even more impressive about a wonderful victory was the victory they scored in Curry's unexpected absence. Based on data and information research, Curry averaged just 20.4 points per game in staples center vs. Lakers, the second-worst score of his career against any team. Asked if there was any explanation for the struggles on the pitch over the years, Curry couldn't help but laugh.
"I don't know," Curry said. "If you have any ideas, please let me know, because I haven't figured it out yet." Still, I like to learn from the victories and help. ”