The first few games for the Warriors this season were almost unwatchable. Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre took turns missing shots, and the team was battered by both the Nets and Bucks. Things were steadily improving over the previous three contests as the schedule relaxed a bit.
And coming into the second of a doubleheader set with the Blazers, we were in for quite the treat. By the end of Sunday’s game, the Warriors had scored 137 points, 62 of them by one of the faces of the game, Steph Curry.
Long Time Coming
Coming into this game, Curry hadn’t been playing poorly. He had been averaging a shade under 27 points per game, doing a solid job as the leader of the new-look Warriors. But obviously, the blowout losses from early in the year were still at the forefront of people’s minds. They made it a point of smack-talking the two-time MVP via Twitter.
No matter who the athlete is, and if they comment publicly, they see the comments. Curry was tired of reading all the slander, so what does he do? He scores 62 points on 18-of-31 shooting from the field. He also scored 18 points on free throws, missing just one free throw attempt the entire game.
The offensive outburst set a new career-high. Curry’s previous best came in 2013 when he scored 54 points in a game at Madison Square Garden.
Coming out of an injury-filled season and without former MVP Kevin Durant, we can expect more high-scoring games from Curry. However, the 62 point explosion was more than any Warriors fan could have anticipated.
Sign of Things to Come?
The upcoming schedule is not very favorable for the Warriors. They’ll have a chance at beating the Kings on the second end of this back-to-back, but then they play the Clippers twice, followed by the Raptors, Pacers, Nuggets, Suns, and Lakers.
You never know what will happen in a given game. Golden State could potentially get hot and take all these teams down. With a guy like Steph Curry leading the way, the team can score in bunches with the best of them. If Oubre and Wiggins can start getting their shots to fall, the Warriors can become a formidable team in the West once more.
Draymond Green’s return adds terrific defensive depth and means there is another ball-handler on the court to pick up some of the slack for Curry. While the offense has moved the ball well in Green’s absence, the team is allowing a league-worst 123.7 points per game.
The Other Guys
While Curry rightfully gets the majority of the praise from the team’s 137-point effort against Portland, some other players gave great performances as well. Rookie James Wiseman has 12 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. Andrew Wiggins had 21 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
Kelly Oubre scored 17 points, and Eric Paschall added 10 off the bench. Plus, Damion Lee hit a huge three late to ensure a win was coming.
Check out today’s NBA picks here: https://njsportsbookreview.com/picks/basketball/nba/