Back after long hiatus, Curry is off to slow start
In their pregame embrace Tuesday, Kevin Durant joked that he barely recognized Stephen Curry with his freshly cropped braids.
The rest of Curry’s seasonopening night was almost as unrecognizable to the viewing public, with the Warriors losing 12599 to Brooklyn as the point guard struggled to find space to play a starring role amid a blurred supporting cast.
“We’ve got to be communicating every second of the practice, game and locker room to continue to talk the game out and build chemistry,” Curry said. “Considering we got beat by 30, the locker room was pretty upbeat, in terms of understanding this is a long journey and everybody has to stay engaged.
“From the coaches to the players, it’s just about communication and being truthful.”
Truth be told, Curry needs some help.
It was his first game after what was basically a 11⁄ 2year hiatus ( only five games since June 2019), and the Warriors’ newlook squad had a truncated twoweek training camp to get ready for the nationally hyped and televised game.
But those truths almost felt like excuses on a night when Curry went 7for21 from the floor to score 20% of the team’s points and had 10 of its 26 assists. With his top teammates posting Instagram messages from Southern California and sitting courtside in sweats and Timberlands, Curry seemingly didn’t know where to turn.
Kelly Oubre Jr., acquired to fill some of the gaps left by Klay Thompson while he’s recovering from a torn Achilles in Los Angeles, and Andrew Wiggins, expected to be Curry’s running mate with Draymond Green sidelined by a foot strain, combined to go 7for30 from the floor.
Oubre had six points. Brooklyn had eight players with at least as many.
Wiggins had more turnovers ( four) than rebounds and assists combined ( three).
The Warriors were outscored by 28 points in his 26 minutes.
“It was a tough night for Andrew. It was a tough night for everybody,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Steph struggled with his shot, and Kelly as well. All in all, we looked like a team that has practiced for only two weeks and has a long way to go.”
The Warriors have two days.
After a practice in New York City on Wednesday, they’ll have a travel day to Milwaukee before facing the Bucks, who led the league with 56 wins last season.
That’s not a lot of time to review video, but Kerr said that’s what he and the staff will do to find ways to support Curry.
“He looked a little out of rhythm, a little out of sorts with his teammates at times,” Kerr said. “He’s still out there making plays and helping us compete. It was not his finest game, but I feel great about how Steph looks physically. As the team continues to grow and figure out its identity, I think he will look like the exact same player he’s been for the past 67 years.”
Curry took his usual break at the start of the fourth quarter Tuesday night, but the game was such a laugher that he didn’t return.
With a towel draped over his head, Curry huddled with Green and other teammates during the final minutes in hopes of getting a head start for solving the defensive attention that swarmed him in Brooklyn.
“I know I can get shots off pickandrolls. When the double is more aggressive, I can give it up,” Curry said. “I think the majority of my shots were when I was the primary ballhandler, which is fine. I’ve got to balance those types of opportunities and be aggressive.”
The bigger problems were when Curry passed the ball early in the possession. For years, he has done that, only to move off the ball and get it back from playmakers like Green, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and a host of centers.
In Game 1, the ball rarely returned to Curry.
He won’t want to remember his 700th career game or his 24,000th career minute, but he will. Only Paul Arizin, Al Attles, Chris Mullin, Jeff Mullins and Nate Thurmond have played as many games with the Warriors, and all of those men had at least one supplementary piece.
“You can look at the stat line, and it’s not great,” Curry said of Wiggins, who shot 4for16 for 13 points. “But, in terms of his confidence and aggressive when he has the ball in his hands, he got great shots for himself and shots for others.
“I really don’t care what it looks like at the end of the day, because he’ll continue to get more comfortable in that position. Kelly, the same way. … We’ve all had bad shooting nights. It just so happened that we were in a big spotlight starting out the season.”