Stephen Curry's Olympic Debut Provides Reprieve From Offseason Questions
There’s been a bit of turmoil in this offseason for the Golden State Warriors. Klay Thompson’s departure - once an unthinkable - has left the team looking to shore up their roster even more than they were before, with rumors aplenty about who they could go after next.
The number one name that we’ve heard all summer is Lauri Markkanen, but it’s starting to look like he wants to stay and be a part of what the Utah Jazz are building. Even if that weren’t the case, it doesn’t seem he has much of a choice: The Warriors were once frontrunners to bring the budding Finnish star into their fold, but the organization’s enamor towards Brandin Podziemski has put a significant roadblock in building a package that front office savant and Jazz general manager Danny Ainge seems interested in trading for, and there doesn’t seem to be another team wildly interested in meeting the asking price that comes with making that trade.
Make no mistake, the team is still a key piece away from being real contenders, but the roster now may be the one they open the season with in October. And with the infectious enthusiasm of Stephen Curry’s brought to his first Olympic games, there’s no reason to believe they can’t at least make a run so long as he’s healthy.
At 36 years old, Curry’s still got his foot on the gas every play, running off of screens and making cuts to the outside of the three-point arc that scare two defenders into jumping after him… leaving his teammate LeBron James to make a crisp and easy pass to the open man whose defenders is running to get a hand up against the greatest shooter ever. The collection of talent Steph’s playing alongside in Paris has an argument to be one of the best teams the USA has ever fielded in the Olympics, led by a three-headed trio of him, James, and former teammate Kevin Durant, all in coach Steve Kerr’s system - one which Curry and KD are familiar with, and which James has easily adapted to.
His game earlier yesterday against South Sudan was a bit on the disappointing side, to say the least: Steph only made one shot of the nine he took, with none of his triples landing. There’s been a bit of inconsistency with his on-ball game through the exhibitions and now into the Olympic tournament itself: He’s had some games where he’s shot very efficiently while being the catalyst for late runs to keep the team in striking distance when the going gets tough.
Curry’s impact with the ball, naturally, is still there in droves, something Warriors fans are very familiar with. What they aren’t familiar with, however, is that the Team USA roster has guys who can capitalize on the advantage and execute every single time it’s created. There have been a couple of misses, as is expected when new teammates are still trying to gel together, but for the most part the chaos Curry creates out there has been a part of their success even when his shot isn’t falling.
The next step is to get 30 - or for the next couple weeks, 4 - going on the ball. Steph’s bounce-back games after abysmal performances are another familiarity which non-Warriors fans haven’t gotten to experience, but he hasn’t really had a performance bad enough to warrant going supernova. That could very well change in their game against Puerto Rico on Saturday, a contest that doesn’t have many implications for tournament standings since the US has already qualified for the quarter-finals and essentially locked up the top spot in group play.
Regardless of if he puts up the numbers though, Curry’s contribution is really just being on the floor, which allows his teammates to get free and make the right plays, which they tend to do a lot since their some of the best players not just in the league today, but they include a couple surefire Hall of Famers, and plenty of other guys well on their way to that same status. On a team where you can’t really double anyone for fear of what another player will do, Steph is still seeing multiple guys run after him on defense to make sure he’s not the one shooting the ball. That continues to be the case when he’s missing, since it’s on everyone’s scouting report that he can get going really, really quick if left too open.
Although we haven’t seen his best yet, there’s been some electric signature moments, including sinking yet another cold no-look three pointer against Serbia in the kickoff game. Through the exhibitions, there were plenty of typical Curry shots, like a 30-footer in transition to tie things up in the first match against South Sudan in London. He had some good games in the Vegas team showcase as well, including a signature moment of a lob to LeBron early on, and his passing acumen has been on display aplenty since he can play a more traditional point guard role on a squad that has so much firepower. It’s a nice reminder to most casual hoop fans that don’t believe he can call the shots: Just because he doesn’t do it all that often, doesn’t mean he’s anywhere close to incapable of it.
The collection of talent on Team USA means they have the lofty expectation of winning the Gold medal. While that isn’t going to be contingent on whether or not Stephen Curry can get his shot going given his ability to draw so much attention off-ball and set the table for the rest of the squad when making the reads, it will make for a lot easier of a path if he’s able to hit the few looks he gets with so many high-level players on the floor. The team functions even better when he starts to heat up - and the hope is that he can do so before the next phase of the tournament begins, and eventually bring that energy into the next season.
(Photo credit: Joe Murphy / Getty Images)