Stephen Curry came out firing in the Warriors’ preseason opener on Sunday, rattling off 14 points in 15 minutes before being shut down for the night halfway through the second quarter as Golden State defeated the Lakers, 111-103.
Curry got on the board a little more than two minutes into the game in impressive fashion. Jarred Vanderbilt (who looked great for the Lakers, by the way), tried to pressure him 30 feet out and Curry just calmly routed him into a Draymond Green screen and proceeded into the paint for a nifty one-legged finish like he hardly even noticed the defense being played on him.
It’s worth noting this particular bucket because even at 37 years old, we know Curry is always going to be able to shoot, but as long as he keeps this ability to separate downhill against big-time pressure and finish these creative paint shots he will remain an elite scorer.
Curry finished 5 of 7 from the field and 3 and 5 from 3. He was clearly hunting his shot early and often knowing his minutes were going to be limited. He looked fantastic. Here’s the full scoring reel.
One more play to spotlight out of that package was the give-and-go with Al Horford early in the first quarter — which highlights the significant impact Horford is going to have on this Warriors team as both a passer and floor-spacer.
It’s a transition possession, and watch as Horford runs straight the short corner. Because he can shoot the 3, the defense (in this case, Bronny James) has to go with him. With Green trailing the play, and thus keeping Lakers center Deandre Ayton occupied 30 feet from the basket, that leaves the paint wide open, so Curry simply hits Horford in the corner and immediately cuts backdoor for an and-one layup.
The Warriors have perhaps had centers who can make this pass (Andrew Bogut, Kevon Looney), but they have never had a starting-caliber center in the Steve Kerr era who commands this kind of attention as a 3-point shooter.
You see what it opens up. If that’s Looney or Bogut or JaVale McGee or Festus Ezeli or Zaza…
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