For the first time in 1005 days, the Warriors’ trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry took the floor in earnest.
It wasn’t quite as precise as their collective prime, but it wasn’t all that far off. On Curry’s 34th birthday, he got Green back and enjoyed a dominant, 47-point performance, while Thompson had 20 of his own in a 126-112 win over the Wizards.
Rust shows in Draymond’s return, but net is overwhelmingly positive
It looked apparent that Draymond Green had been out for the last two months. His ball-handling wasn’t as fluid, his passes a bit erratic. It’s what you’d expect after sitting on the bench, working on more rehab than basketball.
But Green was still that engine of the team, creating space, directing traffic, causing issues defensively. He led all players with a +18 plus-minus, which, while not always a perfect measure of a player’s performance, tends to reflect their net effect when it’s pronounced on either side of the spectrum.
He had 6 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 turnovers with a steal in 20 minutes, a fairly classic Green line, maybe just missing a block.
Curry gives himself a birthday present
When Stephen Curry doesn’t play well, it’s often the result of consistent pressure without outlets. He’s swarmed, dealt limited airspace and is bereft of help.
That last part might be the most crucial because if Curry has anyone else putting pressure on opponents’ defenses, or helping him find space.
With Klay Thompson getting hot in the first half (he struggled mightily in the second) en route to 20 points, Jordan Poole providing 20 (his seventh-straight game with 20 points) and another 12 from Kuminga, he had scoring help.
And with Green facilitating, screening, moving bodies out of his way, and Kevon Looney doing the same, Curry was given the little bit of breathing room he needs to wreak havoc.
By the fourth quarter, Curry wasn’t just launching, he was going full bull in a china shop. That’s not a common descriptor for Curry, who’s such a master of finesse and creativity.
But he took that confidence, coupled it with aggression and started splitting double teams, ripping through the heart of the Wizards’ defense and attacking the rhythm with a relentless consistency they had no hope of answering.
The result was a 47-point outburst on 16-of-25 shooting, 7-of-14 from three and perfect on eight free throws. He had 6 assists, 6 rebounds and a steal to his name, too, and desperately wanted to hit the half-century mark.
In the final two minutes, with the reserves coming in, Curry tried to hide from Steve Kerr, walking to the far side of the court, knowing all too well he was about to be rested. He wanted 50.
Kerr, though, found him. And then Kerr found the ire of the fans, who came with a brief, but rapturous chorus of boos for not letting Curry attempt to get to 50 on his birthday.
Entering the home stretch, the trio is back
By the start of the fourth, the Warriors led by 17, and there was a palpable relaxation in the air as Green launched a 60-footer that wasn’t particularly close.
That ease comes from the thousands of hours of collective muscle memory that Curry, Thompson and Green share.
At long last, they’re all back. It should also be noted that Otto Porter Jr. made his return to the court on Monday alongside Green, adding 7 points and 4 rebounds in 22 minutes.
Golden State’s depth is returning. James Wiseman and Andre Iguodala are on the horizon.
All that worry about where the Warriors were heading has suddenly evaporated, and the dominance and thoughts of what could be in the playoffs are coming back.
They’ve now won four-straight games while the Memphis Grizzlies have just a half-game lead and are unlikely to have Ja Morant in the lineup on Tuesday.
Golden State is poised to reclaim the No. 2 seed and peak at potentially the right time. There is enough explosiveness from the youthful scoring and creativity of Poole, the rim-attacking, rebounding and all-around fearlessness of Kuminga — and hopefully Wiseman, and to a lesser extent, Moses Moody — to marry with the veteran know-how of Andre Iguodala, Green, Looney, Curry and Thompson.
The recipe is starting to come together. While this thing is still a little more than half-baked, it’s like looking into the oven and seeing that dough rise. You can see that golden crust starting to come to the surface.
