NBA Playoffs: Warriors Enter an Uncertain Offseason, But Stephen Curry Stands Resolute

In NBA Playoffs, Warriors enter an uncertain offseason, but Stephen Curry is as resolute as ever Curry stood on the Warriors’ bench, his legs aching and his mind beginning to adjust to the reality of the evening — no trip to June, no waving a ring finger at a bewildered crowd.

Instead, it was the up-and-down clamor of the Los Angeles Lakers fans finally allowed to celebrate a long playoff run in a place outside of a Disney-approved bubble in 2020 at the Crypto.com Arena.

In their 122-101 loss to the Lakers in Game 6 of the series on Friday night, the defending champs ran out of time, bodies, and strategies.

Before LeBron James could complete what Anthony Davis and others had begun, it was already finished. This was his greatest game of the playoffs.

Before Austin Reaves launched a last-second half-court shot to put the fans into a tizzy at halftime, it was over.

Before the worn-out champions entered the building, they already knew it was done. They had been trying to find a trademark moment in the locker room to extend the series to a decisive seventh game.

Probably during the preseason.

The game seemed to sum up their entire season: sustaining a setback in the first few minutes, fighting back to respectability, taking another shot, and then teetering on the brink of total failure.

Klay Thompson MAY 2-13, 2023

Pts 16.2 Reb 4.5 Ast 2.3

Stl 0.5 MIn 36:10

In the end, the persistent Lakers wore out Curry, the NBA’s best-conditioned athlete by all accounts. Curry made only 25.6% of his 3-point attempts in the final three games of this series, making it clear that the champions had run out of gas.

The evening demonstrated the underappreciated talent of this Warriors group during their current run. They are the most tenacious group this league has had to offer in decades. They are considered front-runners who can outshoot and out-talent opponents.

They have pulled off incredible comebacks repeatedly, stealing momentum from teams and confidence from opposition buildings, worn down by internal forces inside and outside the locker room.

They pulled out of a 3-1 hole just before that, and even in the years they fell short, they gave the eventual winners all they could handle. The 3-1 jokes from 2016 are all well and good.

For the first time, the conclusion was clear-cut and demonstrated the harm that had been done as well as the work that still needs to be done if this run is to continue.

“I left my guys in the locker room and you could see the looks in their eyes, just the combination of tiredness and despair. And they simultaneously believe that we really pushed it, you know. There’s a reason why they’re champions”.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr stated,

They appeared worn out, perhaps even more so than they did during their final season with Kevin Durant, the 2019 season. Kerr acknowledged organizational exhaustion during that stretch, similar to “The Last Dance” Chicago Bulls. This time, he refrained from saying anything similar since he was confident in his ability to continue winning.

Through this run, Curry’s thin shoulders bore the most burden, but it’s not like he wasn’t capable of handling it. After Draymond Green and Jordan Poole had an altercation during training camp, he had to rally the squad.

He also had to deal with his own ailments, which forced him to miss some time, and Andrew Wiggins’ protracted absence. Putting out fires in various rooms of a lavishly furnished mansion took precedence over the customary duty of defending a championship.

Stephen Curry 2022 – 2023 SEASON

Pts 29.4 Reb 6.1 Min 34:40

Ast 6.3 Stl 0.9

Nine road victories by this team prevented many people from openly placing bets against him.

“I think we found ourselves down the stretch and in the first round of the playoffs,”

stated Kerr.

And to be fair, I believe this team likely reached its maximum potential.

It is possible that in this series, he and James switched roles as the man who had strength in numbers and the person who stood alone.

Curry can surely learn from James, who clicks the authority buttons surrounding him to ask for more assistance and stars and, if that plan doesn’t work, presses the large, red eject button to start over, even though it is unlikely that Curry will ever possess James’ grace.

Even with his hands on the gas, James won’t accept anything, and sooner or later, ownership and management give in to make moves. Should the competitive and title-deserving Denver Nuggets give in to the Lakers’ pressure in the Western Conference finals, such maneuvers have positioned the Lakers in an unlikely position to go to the NBA Finals after a 2-10 start.

Because of James, Davis is a Laker, and he was the best player in the series, acting as a two-way force to relieve James of some of the burden so that James could apply his own in fits and spurts.

After his own dismal series, Curry’s splashy sibling, Klay Thompson, made him feel like an orphan. After playing every other day for over a month, Thompson, whose contract is up for renewal this summer, missed open shot after open shot while his legs appeared to be dead.
And that doesn’t magically get better on its own as you get older and get a summer off. The same is true for Green, who desires to remain a Warrior “for life” and must also think about his own potential free agency this summer.

Poole’s big moment won’t even start until the next season, but his playoff struggles—particularly in this series, where he had ample opportunity to establish himself—cannot be overlooked. If the Warriors are committed to upholding the standard that Curry’s labor of love helped establish, at least discussing his future should be on the table.

Four championships may be sufficient for Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who has financial decisions to make about the team’s roster as well as chief executive officer Bob Myers, who will be a free agency this summer.

The Warriors’ reliance on their own supplies to start the season is understandable given their refusal to trade their more inexperienced players for seasoned veterans who could have strengthened them in their bid for a repeat performance.

Little did they anticipate that the Western Conference would develop as it has, with the field seemingly wide open for anyone had the guts to make decisions for the present rather than being fixated on the future.

It will also be more difficult to maintain, let alone enhance, with veterans who want to be paid for what they have done and what they still want to do due to a more stringent luxury-tax threshold that will prevent high-spending clubs from delving deeper into their pockets.

“This is not a championship team. Well, if we were, we’d be on our way. You may therefore examine the year as a whole and observe all the highs and lows, as well as the various events and adversities that occurred, but a group managed to stick together, compete, and have a respectable run”.

Kerr declared.

Curry carried them to the second round with his historic 50-point performance against Sacramento. His excellence necessitates that his organization match it as he reaches the age of 36 for the playoff run in the following season, with no vice other than winning.
“That’s the expectation,” Curry said to Yahoo Sports following his press conference. “Considering how the season ended, it’s disappointing, but it’s also a chance to realize things can be fixed.

“I’m genuinely trying to win a title. If we fail to achieve that, then concerns will start to surface. Even if you won’t be able to win it every year, you want to be in a position to be a real contender. You can regroup and return in the final eight.

Many franchises would be happy to reach the final eight. It was true for the Warriors at one time.

However, the top eight are no longer sufficient, and Curry may need to roar in order to be heard.

Curry told media, “I’m active, always have been. Just not outspoken about it, but I am always.

Without his magic, the large structure by the water in San Francisco wouldn’t exist, nor would Green or Thompson; Kerr and Myers wouldn’t either. Although it’s simple to believe that certain companies succeed, their distinctiveness cannot be bought, sold, or replicated.

The clock is running out, Green said. “I believe you understand when you achieve such success, people start to truly put you on the clock. We don’t care about the time, for us. We simply put in the effort to succeed each year.

One memory from Friday night sticks out: Curry kept dribbling and probing, looking for a gap in the Lakers defense that was out to stop him. The manner Curry went for it made it appear as though the Warriors were not in a good position.

He has never been so worn out while still being so motivated to take action.

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