Preface
The winning Kings have yet to secure a playoff spot, so what about the losing Warriors?
And one of the players who can't be avoided is Stephen Curry.
The NBA play-in is out, and the Warriors dynasty is over
On April 17, the NBA play-in Warriors lost to the Kings 94-118, ending their season early. Judging by the previous games, the two sides have also played each other in the regular season, winning two of each of the four times.
As each other's opponents, they should all be very familiar. At the beginning of the game, the Kings got control of the ball, especially the rebounding, and had a clear advantage, so in the first half, the Kings once extended their advantage to double digits.
Fortunately, the bench of teenager Kuminga allowed the Warriors to pull back some scores, and the score was reduced to four points at halftime. Although it is in a backward state, the score is still relatively easy to chase, but the performance of the Warriors in the second half makes people not know what to say.
The scores between the two teams were very close, with Curry's outside shot narrowing the gap to one point, and the Kings' advantage on the inside extended the margin back to double digits. The most speechless for fans is Klay Thompson, whose feel in this game is not ordinarily bad.
0-of-10 shooting, 0-of-6 three-pointers, and with a few months to go until this summer, his contract with the team is about to expire, and it's unclear where he's going to go from there.
The current Warriors' poor offensive stability eventually led to the complete collapse of the Warriors, and the King's Keegan Morry's 8 three-pointers were undoubtedly a fatal blow to the Warriors.
After the game, there was a huge controversy on the Internet, and compared to the victory celebration of Kings fans, both Warriors fans and onlookers sparked a heated discussion about how their team should develop in the future.
Are the Warriors getting old?Curry ruined the basketball?
All dynastic teams have their peaks and moments, but the Warriors' development is probably the one that shocks everyone the most. Take the Lakers, Heat, Bulls and other teams that are in decline because of their own problems.
The "pillar" stars are either retiring or leaving, and the Warriors have not encountered these problems, they have retained the "core signs" Curry, Green, and Thompson, but what is the result?
In '22, the trio did work together to win the championship, defeating the Celtics 4-2 on aggregate to win the championship. In an interview with the media at the time, Curry said that he had just returned from a foot injury, and the three old guys won the championship again.
Curry himself knows that in the past two years, there has been a lot of public opinion and criticism, basically saying that they are "old" and should make better decisions to develop young people and maintain core unity, and they are proud to win the championship.
Two years have passed, but in the course of this season, the situation of the Warriors has fallen off a cliff, other teams are developing young players, and the Warriors brought in veteran Chris Paul in the offseason.
At the beginning of the season, there were indeed a few highlights, but overall, this team with an average age still can't stand the "test", many players have been injured due to age, and Green's irrational behavior has led to a long-term ban.
At the end of the game, Curry was interviewed by the media, and he said that he was very uncomfortable, and he also felt very unfamiliar with the current situation, and he still longed for victory in his heart.
When the Warriors played against the Kings last year, Kings player Malik Monk also hinted in the interview that the Warriors were older, which was also conveyed to Curry by the media, and Curry said that as long as he was alive, he would not.
After playing for so many years, some fans have analyzed Curry's seasons in the past ten years, from youth to maturity and then to hardship. In the 14-15 season, Curry won the championship, but he was not very mature in terms of technology or physical functions.
The next season will be clear that whether it is creativity, speed, agility, Curry's excellent performance is beyond words. But then there was an injury and then a return.
Although he won his fourth championship, Curry is also 34 years old, past the best of the player's peak, if you compare the images of his previous games, you can clearly see the decline in speed, especially when shooting jumps and runs.
After that, the performance of the game was even more obvious, after all, the age is here, no matter how good the training is, it can't be compared with the physical condition of the young man who has just twenty years old.
And during this period, some people also attacked Curry, saying that Curry ruined the basketball. He was Bob Lane, a columnist for the Boston Globe.
In his opinion, the three-point shot is a "publicity gimmick", Curry's three-point shot is indeed powerful, but can everyone become Curry? The influence of the three-point shot has also led to the passing ball, low-post back-to-back singles, etc., which are less and less mentioned.
In addition, there are many people who obsessively imitate Curry, and many are even children...... But in addition to Curry, the future of the Warriors is also very worrying.
Should the warriors who fell off the cliff tear down and rebuild?
Thompson's current salary is as high as $43 million, but he is "high salary and low ability". And this year also said that Kerr has coached the Warriors for 10 years, and under his guidance, the Warriors have also played a terrifying record of 73 wins in the regular season, but his stubborn use of people has made the Warriors stormy.
Aging is a topic that the Warriors can't avoid, Curry is 36 years old, and Paul is 39. There is also an injection of fresh blood in the team, but they are not yet at the point of being in charge.
There is also a financial crunch, with the total salary cost of the Warriors players this season being $382.5 million, and the Warriors' salary space is also under great pressure next season. There is also a constant stream of off-the-field news......
epilogue
The Warriors are no longer the king they once were, and Curry is not the Curry they once were. Whether the Warriors are in the current situation or are rebuilt depends on the decision of management.
If the Warriors can't strengthen in the free market, Curry, who is loyal to the Warriors, is probably not going to have a good time at the end of his career......
Resources
1. The original article was published in the Yangtze Evening News 2024-04-17About "The NBA play-off is out, and the Warriors dynasty has completely collapsed"
2. The original article was published in the Global Times 2024-04-17About "Klay scored zero points on ten shots, and the Warriors dynasty ended!"
3. The original article was published in Qingtong's perspective 2024-04-17About "Topic|Warriors end the season early, "Kuchai Tang" is about to disintegrate?
4. The original article was published in The Paper 2024-04-17About "From the championship to the play-off fiasco, should the Warriors who fell off the cliff tear down and rebuild"
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