The Portland Trail Blazers easily defeated the Golden State Warriors 123-98 on Friday night.
Stephen Curry finished the game with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, but he continued to struggle with his shooting efficiency. He went 8-of-20 from the field and 4-of-12 from beyond the arc.
After the fact, Blazers star Damian Lillard gave his honest assessment of why Curry’s shooting numbers seem less impressive now than they did during that five-year stretch when the Warriors dominated the NBA. Lillard said:
“I think right now, with the injuries that the Warriors have been dealing with and Steph playing with a younger team right now, he’s seeing that it’s tough to get those quality looks right now.
“It’s different than what it’s looked like over the last four or five years for him (Stephen Curry). He’s trying to get quality looks and get a clean look so he can make a good one.
“You don’t really have that luxury to take one from that deep just to be taking it like in the past he might have, and I’m the same, getting a lot of attention from defenses.”
When those comments were relayed to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, he couldn’t find much fault with them. Kerr said, per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Damian Lillard was right to say that. They did a good job taking [Curry] out. Now, we need to do a better job of putting him in better positions.”
Curry is currently averaging 26.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists through five outings. Those numbers in themselves aren’t bad. What isn’t great, however, is how much he is having to work to achieve them. Currently he is shooting 42 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc — both of which mark career lows.
Golden State has lost to every good team it has faced throughout this young season, recording its two lone wins on the year against a hapless Chicago Bulls squad and equally bad Detroit Pistons group.
Fortunately, Curry and Kerr won’t have to wait long to get their shot at revenge against the Blazers. The two teams will face off once more on Sunday at the Chase Center.
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