With all due respect to Charles Barkley, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are definitely worth talking about right now.
Behind 40 points from their former MVP, the Warriors defeated the Brooklyn Nets 121-119 on Thursday. It was their 10th win in 12 games since trading for Jimmy Butler at the NBA trade deadline.
Three of Curry’s 40 points came at the end of the first half. Even by Curry’s incredible standards, his high-arcing, turnaround jumper was a shot that defied belief.
That shot was part of a 22-point comeback for the Warriors after a brutal first quarter. Curry ended up shooting 12-of-20 from the field and 7-of-13 from 3-point range, with four rebounds and four assists. It was also a big game from Butler, who matched a Warriors career high with 25 points plus six assists and three steals.
Curry was the one who had the dagger.
Since trading Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder and others for Butler, the Warriors have simultaneously looked like a different team, and somewhat familiar. So much was made about Golden State finding a next generation to take over after Curry, but the team ended up getting even older by adding Butler and hoping he still had the two-way prowess that wasn’t showing up with the Miami Heat anymore.
In their 11 games since the Butler trade before Thursday, the Warriors lead the NBA in defensive rating and rank fourth in offensive rating, adding up to the best net rating in basketball. Curry has gone from averaging 22.7 points, 6.1 assists and 38.9% 3-point shooting in 42 pre-Butler games to 29.4, 6.8 and 42.9%.
Stephen Curry is once again finding his old form. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
There’s no Klay Thompson this time around, but the Warriors’ new plan is flanking Curry with two veterans who can facilitate and defend in Butler and Draymond Green, who had 10 assists Thursday.
So far, it’s working. The Warriors have gone from firm play-in territory to a 35-28 record, good for sixth place and the final guaranteed playoff spot in the West. They have significant competition right behind them in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers, but it took a single month for this season to feel very different.
