Curry sheds his good kid image
FIRST, Stephen Curry gave us the shimmy and then followed it with a slur. The All-American kid from next door isn’t so innocent anymore. Not after Curry, who torched the Houston Rockets on Sunday, declared of Oracle Arena: “This is my house.” Except that Curry punctuated his statement with a profanity, resulting in a harsh reprimand from his mother, Sonya Curry.
“She already sent me two home videos, showing me the clip and playing it back,” Curry told ESPN late Sunday following the Golden State Warriors’ 41-point Game 3 win. “She was telling me how I need to wash my mouth out, saying to wash it out with soap. It’s a message I’ve heard before.”
Curry, whose image is that of the wholesome young man with the cute and cuddly family, agreed with his mother.
“She’s right,” he added. “I gotta do better. I can’t talk like that.”
Curry admitted losing control of his emotions during a thirdquarter explosion in which he scored 18 points and made all seven shots. After being criticized for pro- ducing a total of 34 points in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, Curry detonated for 35 on Sunday. It was his highest output since he poured in 44 points during a win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 22.
“You know,” Draymond Green said. “I’ve seen those explosions happen here and everywhere.”
But we haven’t seen Curry be Curry for some time. He missed the first six games of the postseason while recovering from a knee injury. The Warriors, behind Kevin Durant, didn’t miss a beat while the Curry, a two-time MVP, was convalescing. And with Curry apparently healthy and productive again, Golden State is the clear favorite to capture its second straight title and third in four years.
The Warriors enter Game 4 tonight having won an NBA record 16 straight home playoff games. Their last postseason home loss was Game 7 in 2016, when LeBron James orchestrated a performance for the ages and Kyrie Irving hit the biggest shot in Cleveland Cavaliers history.
Otherwise, the Warriors have been unbeaten in Oakland and, should they advance to their fourth straight NBA Finals, they will have home-court advantage against either Cleveland or Boston.
They are a budding dynasty for sure. But while dominating the league, the Warriors have become one of those teams NBA fans love to hate. It’s impossible to criticize their play; they are one of the best, if not the greatest, offensive powers the league has ever seen.
But the perception of the Warriors changed when Durant signed a free-agent contract prior to the 2016-17 season. The home-grown team - Curry and Klay Thompson were lottery picks and Green was a secondround pick - transformed into a super team. They are the NBA version of the Evil Empire.
The rich got richer. And we hated them for it.
So when it was discovered that Durant was using a fake Twitter account last summer to respond to criticism, that played into the narrative that the Warriors are a great but unlikable club. Green’s antics on the court and his non-stop chatter add fuel. Even head coach Steve Kerr’s willingness to express his political views has turned some fans off.
Curry has always been somewhat polarizing. Born into an NBA family, he is a child of privilege. His playground growing up was an NBA gym. Before he grew a beard, Curry’s child-like features combined with his dynamic game made him immensely popular among kids. The same kids who dream of being LeBron see Curry’s size and skill set and start to believe that replicating him as a player is a more realistic goal.
Curry is not without his flaws. His habit of chewing on his mouth guard is annoying. And the occasional dancing after hitting a shot becomes insufferable.
On Sunday, we heard Curry like we’ve never heard him before. Even his mother noticed.
Maybe this was Curry wanting to distance himself from his squeaky clean image. He wouldn’t be the first former child star to do it. ne slip-up, however, doesn’t mean Curry is on the fast track to become a future Bad Boy.
But if those antics result in more and more impartial NBA fans rooting against Curry and the Warriors, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing for the NBA.
O