Scott Ostler says Curry appears to be at the top of his game.
Pinpoint ball movement, 3-pointers bedevil Cavs
In my judgment as a selfanointed medical and basketball expert, Stephen Curry is 127 percent recovered from his knee injury.
In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Curry looked to be at the peak of his skills and magic, and one level beyond. If he continues to play like that, the Warriors will win another title.
On “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah, every show closes with “Your moment of Zen,” a short clip of craziness from that day’s news.
And now, here’s your moment of Zen from Game 1:
It’s overtime, Warriors lead Cavaliers 112-107, two minutes left. Curry is dribbling at the top of the key. He dribbles left, is picked up by Kevin Love on a switch, drives left around Love and is headed to the hoop.
But here comes help. LeBron James, guarding Shaun Livingston in the left corner, leaves Livingston to pick up Curry. Curry nears the brick wall and, without slowing or glancing to either side, passes the ball with his right hand, directly behind
him, to Livingston.
Since Curry never even peeked at Livingston, the cagey vet is taken by surprise. He knew there was no way Curry could know that he (Livingston) was where he was. So Livingston briefly fumbles the pass, but gathers it and flips in a jump-hook over Love. Time out, Cavs. Livingston, who wears a hard, businesslike game face, busts into a huge I-did-notexpect-that-pass grin, and makes eye contact across the lane with Curry, who gives Livingston a goofy gesture, hands to face, making goggles.
If you want to explain the Warriors, what makes them special, that clip will work.
When the Warriors are at their best, when the magic is flowing, the action always involves Curry, and ball movement, and creativity, and a dash of outrageous and borderlinecrazy risk.
In the wake of Game 1, most of the focus was on the oddities — J.R. Smith’s brain fritz, James’ scoring, the reversed charging call on Kevin Durant, the scuffle at the end, Klay Thompson’s injury ...
Lost in the fog? Curry’s brilliance. He was barely mentioned in Friday’s conference calls with media.
Curry is the antidote to what was wrong with the Warriors through most of the first three rounds of the playoffs. He didn’t do it alone Thursday, but the Warriors were moving again, and amazing stuff happened.
If Curry touches the ball three times in a possession, you know the Warriors are clicking. Like on this play near the end of the first half:
Curry brings the ball into the frontcourt, dribbles into the paint, draws triple coverage, flips the ball to Jordan Bell under the hoop and flows to the right corner. Bell passes out to Curry in the corner, but he’s covered so he passes behind his back to Thompson, who passes behind his back to Draymond Green, who passes back on the left side to Curry, who drives to the hoop and pulls up for a legs-splayed, 10-foot bank shot.
Five passes, three touches by Curry.
This is why Steve Kerr spurned his dear mentor, Phil Jackson, and opted to coach the Warriors instead of the Knicks. This is the kind of special stuff Kerr believed the Warriors, led by Curry, had the potential to do.
Thursday, the Warriors outassisted the Cavs 31-18. Curry had nine assists, as did Green. The Warriors, running, moving and sometimes gambling, had only seven turnovers. If those numbers continue, the Warriors win a short series.
Curry’s 11 field goals (29 points) were like snowflakes — no two the same. It was like he was playing H-O-R-S-E. His best shot was one he missed, while being fouled. From 17 feet out, Curry head-faked Jordan Clarkson into the air, leaned into him to initiate contact, got the whistle and fired up a lefthanded jumper that almost went in.
“That was no foul!” TNT’s Jeff Van Gundy protested. “Curry initiated contact.”
Van Gundy was wrong. It was a foul. Technically, the shooter’s lean-in is illegal, but NBA refs
always give that call to the shooter. (See: James Harden.) A younger Curry played by the written rules. He’s smarter now, and plays by the real rules.
Curry’s passing, sometimes too funsy and dangerous, was more controlled, but not constrained. He took risks. Leading one fast break, he saw Thompson open on the left wing, but a defender was closing in. The only possible pass was a delicate looper that reached Thompson too late for a standard layup but too early for an alley-oop. Thompson adjusted, caught the ball and in mid-air one-timed it in from an awkward distance. Genius meets genius.
Maybe Curry and the Warriors will regress, get stodgy again. Maybe Cleveland will find a way to blanket Curry.
But based on Game 1, Curry the Ringmaster is back and the circus is on.