The NBA regular season is nearing its halfway point, and the situation in both the East and West is relatively clear. In the West, the Suns, who have the highest spending in the league this season (with salaries and luxury taxes exceeding $400 million), are unlikely to make the playoffs. Even if they eventually acquire Butler and trade away Beal, the Suns lack a defensive foundation and an offensive strategy that relies solely on individual play, which has even led to them losing their lower limit in the regular season. The Thunder are leading the way, while the Rockets and Grizzlies are rising strongly, slowly ushering in a post-James, Durant, and Curry era, where the new generation is taking over. On the Eastern side, teams beyond the top six are hardly worth watching as they rarely show competitiveness in the playoffs. The Magic can still hold onto fourth place despite missing two key players, showing an immeasurable future. In fact, many teams are affected by core injuries.
For example, the Nuggets and Mavericks are completely different teams with or without their core players; including the Suns, who struggle to win without either Durant or Booker. However, there is one team where the overall performance is worse when the team leader plays, and that is the Warriors! This season, when Curry plays, the Warriors have a record of 13 wins and 16 losses; when Curry is absent, the Warriors' record is actually 5 wins and 2 losses. As Kerr puts it, this is obviously an accidental event, but all accidents have a certain inevitability. The Warriors started the season with a 12-3 record and topped the Western Conference, but then went on a 5-15 slide to drop to tenth in the West, at which point Curry couldn't sit still and criticized the management and the team. But what I want to say is that Curry is the culprit behind the Warriors.
Let's start with some data. In the past 17 games that Curry has played, the Warriors have a record of 4 wins and 13 losses, including a total loss of 191 points in the 13 lost games, which equates to an average loss of 14.7 points! This is already the bottom level across the league during the same period, including a 51-point defeat to the Grizzlies, where Curry played 24 minutes, made 0 out of 7 shots for 2 points; an 18-point defeat to the Cavaliers, where Curry made 4 out of 14 shots for 11 points; a loss to the Pacers where Curry made 2 out of 13 shots for 10 points; and a game where the Spurs staged a big comeback, where Curry made 4 out of 16 shots for 14 points. Curry's original criticism of the management was: "We can't have it both ways," referring to the opportunity to choose Wiseman with the second pick, which did not work out! Owner Lacob wants to cultivate the next generation of faces while also competing for the championship.
Has the Warriors' management made mistakes? Aside from this season, in the past five or six seasons, the Warriors have spent the most each year, giving big contracts to Klay and Draymond Green besides Curry, for whose sake? The Warriors have not failed to fulfill Curry's wish to see Klay, Thompson, and Green end their careers in the Bay Area; it was Klay who proactively chose to leave. The Warriors gave Klay opportunities, but he repeatedly disappointed people, coupled with Curry's stubborn support. Including the Warriors' plan to cultivate young players, which was not fully implemented: the trained Poole was punched away by Curry's little fanboy Green. Kuminga, a rising star, was held back by Kerr; to meet Curry's cutting and passing system requirements, small guards like Bjelica, Schroder, and Waters received too much playing time.
But what about the results? In terms of dominance, Curry is the fastest declining superstar this season, based on two major premises: no injuries and being a superstar, neither George nor Embiid qualify. Last season, even when Curry performed poorly, he could still contribute an average of 26.4 points because he had his brothers. However, this season, when facing potential competitors or strong teams, how many victories has Curry cost the team? Losing consecutively to the Rockets and Mavericks, Curry's choices in the final moments were the worst, not controlling the time, blindly confident in shooting, including various low-level passing errors! Including a 30-point defeat to the Kings and a 16-point defeat to the Heat, Curry had zero assists in both games! Curry seems to have fallen into a delusional trap.
The previous championship trophy made Curry subconsciously believe that he could continue winning with Draymond Green, Klay, and Wiggins. And the young players like Kuminga, Poole, Moody, and Davis should become bargaining chips, forcing the team to choose between them. But the question is, with such a poor Clippers lineup, Harden can still lead the team to maintain a top-six position. The Warriors execute a 10-12 man rotation, yet Curry's win rate is negative; is it the role players' problem? Even if the Warriors are willing to trade away young players to find help for Curry, who can they get? Is it Butler or James? How long can such a lineup last? What will be left for the Warriors in two years? Who will support Kerr's chaotic lineup arrangements? Who gives Draymond Green the audacity to act recklessly?
In fact, the answers are obvious! But as time goes on, when Curry's dominance wanes, he begins to convey feelings of frustration and negativity, wishing for better teammates instead of a group of young players. But what were you doing earlier? Do you just lose one Klay and expect the management to continue recruiting superstars? Kerr can be fired, and the management can certainly choose to give up on young players, but what I want to say is that Curry cannot go back. The Curry + Green system can only accommodate Durant; even Paul left dejectedly. Who would want to board a sinking ship? Curry is the real culprit behind the Warriors' rapid decline in these two seasons.
