For years, many people have said that the fate of the Golden State Warriors lives or dies with Stephen Curry.
If he is doing well, they said, the Warriors are in fine form.
When he’s not playing as he usually does, they fall apart.
There has been pushback against this from Warriors fans who say the team is more than Curry.
However, right now it’s not.
Warriors offensive rating this Finals:
116.8 with Steph on the floor
(Would rank first this season)91.5 with Steph on the bench
(Would rank worst in last 50 seasons) pic.twitter.com/7J9AzltBeL— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 9, 2022
During these Finals, Curry has been quite literally the biggest difference-maker for his crew.
When he is on the floor, the Warriors have an offensive rating of 116.8, which would rank first for the season.
However, when he is on the bench the Warriors’ offensive rating plummets to 91.5, which ranks worst in the last 50 years.
That’s quite the drop-off and makes it very hard for people to deny that Curry is key for the team’s success right now.
Cursed Without Curry
Curry always comes alive in the postseason but he’s really been on a tear this year.
Appearing in his first Finals in a few years, he looks rested, centered, and laser-focused on victory above all else.
His point totals have been definitive proof of that: 34 in Game 1, 29 in Game 2, and 31 in Game 3.
However, the rest of his teammates have been hit or miss and, at times, it has felt like Curry was on a squad all by himself.
There have been moments of brilliance from Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and others but there have also been times when they’ve all been very lacking.
That has led to the huge differential between the team with and without Curry.
If Golden State wants to win it all again this year, they’ll need to perform far, far better without Curry.
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