Stephen Curry is peaking at the right time.
Ironically, in a regular season that was seen by many as a disappointment, the two-time MVP has been on a tear through 10 games this postseason, and is playing the best basketball we’ve seen from him in over a year. Put simply, Curry has never been quite this efficient or consistent in the playoffs throughout his eight-year career. Despite that, as the Warriors continue to rampage through the competition with contributions from the entire roster, Curry’s brilliance has remained under the radar.
Over the last three games, Curry has scored 99 points on 54 shots in just over 104 minutes. In those games when he’s been on the floor, the Warriors have outscored their opponents by 65 points. In a year where he posted the lowest three-point percentage of his career, Curry is shooting 43.7 percent from downtown in the playoffs, better than he ever has in any of the five postseasons he’s played in.
Curry’s four 3’s in the opening quarter of Tuesday’s 136-100 evisceration of the Spurs, helped start an onslaught that never ended. Curry would finish 6-for-9 on the game while sitting the entire fourth quarter, putting his playoff total to 45 makes in 10 games on only 103 attempts.
It’s not just the numbers that are jumping out. Look at some of these highlights from last night.
Curry has made three 3s so far in the first quarter as the #Warriors hold a comfortable 25-12 lead pic.twitter.com/4zfuiY9oEp
— KNBR (@KNBR) May 17, 2017
To be fair to Dewayne Dedmon, Steph Curry was running really really fast pic.twitter.com/fyURMFp91q
— KNBR (@KNBR) May 17, 2017
Too easy pic.twitter.com/KhAylV3VEL
— KNBR (@KNBR) May 17, 2017
When the game slows down for Curry like it has right now, he becomes simply un-guardable. What’s more, the attention opposing defenses must place on Curry when he’s shooting like this opens things opportunities for his teammates all over the court. Curry’s impact is perhaps best reflected in his plus-minus numbers, where Golden State has outscored opponents by 180(!) points when he’s on the floor. Curry’s per game average (+18) is better than anyone this postseason, including LeBron, who has the highest number amongst non-Warriors at +12.8.
Curry’s decision making, an issue during last postseason when he averaged an inflated 4.2 turnovers per game, has also been stellar. Curry has cut his turnovers to 2.9 per game and is currently boasting an exceptional 2.07 assist-to-turnover rate that’s far better than his 1.24 from the playoffs a season ago.
During Golden State’s last two Finals runs, Curry was by no means bad, but never quite reached the heights he did during the regular season. That is not the case right now. It goes without saying this will all be for naught if he disappoints in June like he did in 2016-17, something that is likely a prerequisite for the Cavs having a chance in this not so hypothetical series.
But if this trend continues, the Warriors are simply unbeatable, and even LeBron James won’t have an answer for Curry at his best.
