Tuesday NBA Roundup: Stephen Curry Masking Golden State Warriors' Problems
After their 127-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, it's easy to assume the Golden State Warriors have finally shown what they can do when operating at full strength.
They held the lethal backcourt combination of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum in check while playing in an arena that ranked as the No. 6 home-court advantage in NBA.com's annual GM survey. They exploded on offense behind a barrage of three-pointers, pulling ahead with a 41-point third quarter and never looking back. They even received an unlikely bench contribution, as Ian Clark dropped a 22-spot on a perfect 8-of-8 from the field.
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But this isn't the best Golden State will play in 2016-17, because Stephen Curry masked so many of the team's flaws.
Curry scored a mere five points during the first half, pestered by multiple defenders on many possessions and often taking a backseat to his teammates—both fellow stars and less-heralded role players such as Clark. But he went supernova during a 23-point third quarter, highlighted by a quintet of triples and the dazzling reverse layup you can see below:
It was 2015-16 Curry showing up once again—the same one who won MVP in unanimous fashion for the first time in league history while obliterating three-point records. It was the version of the point guard who could seemingly will contested threes through the nylon.
And that was exactly what Golden State needed.
Curry's one-man excellence propelled the Warriors to a 27-point lead after the third quarter, even though they retreated to the visitor's locker room at halftime with a mere six-point advantage. From there, it was easy to keep control of the momentum as Portland desperately pushed the pace and struggled to recover in transition.
Curry's heroics left aftershocks that still worked in Golden State's favor.
But the final score, and Curry's individual impact, help distract from the struggles that continue to plague Golden State. Its defense in particular was shaky during the first half, with numerous players switching incorrectly and the whole team relying on interior stops to make up for perimeter mishaps.
As ESPN.com's Zach Lowe pointed out, it wasn't even the newcomers making mistakes:
Lowe wasn't alone in his observations. Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News noted that while Golden State entered halftime with a lead, it still didn't feel as if everything was clicking:
Defense wasn't the only concern.
Clark (3-of-3 from downtown) and Curry (5-of-10) make the team's three-point showing look respectable, but their teammates combined to go just 2-of-13 (15.4 percent). The Warriors are still missing the downtown abilities of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.
Durant has been able to adjust, thriving from mid-range and torturing smaller opponents after switches. He finished with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field against Portland. Thompson, however, experienced no reprieve from his shooting nightmare.
The other Splash Brother recorded 14 points against the Blazers, but that came on a 6-of-17 outing from the field.
Together, Durant and Thompson fired 10 three-point attempts. They made zero.
On the season, the former is now 3-of-13 (.231) from beyond the arc. The latter is a miserable 3-of-28 (.107) and is experiencing zero success from the corners, as NBA on ESPN pointed out:
Tuesday night's blowout victory means they're now 3-1 [insert jokes here] during the opening salvo of their redemption campaign, beating a strong opponent on the road in dominant fashion.
Curry's third quarter alone will give highlight outlets more fodder than they could possibly request. But even some of those threes were bailout triples—the products of broken-down plays resulting in contested opportunities only generational talents could make consistently.
We still haven't seen the best from these Warriors. We won't until their defensive communication is better and every historically excellent shooter is finding the bottom of the net.
But that will happen before long. By then, other teams will sympathize with the Blazers.
Houston, We Have a Problem
The Houston Rockets can't stop a nosebleed, making it impossible for them to capitalize on James Harden's excellent showings against competitive squads. His heroics worked against the Dallas Mavericks, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are a different beast.
That was readily apparent in the Cavs' 128-120 victory, which featured them getting buckets whenever necessary. Kyrie Irving dazzled with 32 points and four assists while shooting 10-of-19 from the field. Kevin Love couldn't be stopped, whether he was knocking down perimeter jumpers or going to work from the blocks.
But it wasn't just Cleveland's stars who contributed, since Houston's defense was wholly incapable of generating stops.
"Mike D'Antoni and James Harden both own well-earned reputations for eschewing defense. (Harden, in particular, will be happy about the death of Vine.) There is an obvious synergy of star player and coach here, with both enabling each other's worst impulses," Jason Concepcion wrote for The Ringer.
We're talking about a defense that doesn't seem to exert much energy in transition, has two glaring liabilities (Harden and Ryan Anderson) in the starting five, struggles to switch in timely fashion and constantly makes the wrong decisions against screens. Even heading into this contest, the Rockets ranked in the bottom half of the defensive-rating leaderboard despite playing each of their first three games against substandard offenses.
Granted, Cleveland will torch many opponents this year. You can spin this result positively, as Locked on Rockets' Ben DuBose did:
But this is quickly becoming a pattern. Squandering 41 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds from Harden isn't a recipe for success, especially when he turned the ball over just once and was mind-bogglingly efficient from the field (13-of-20).
It'll become a consistent reality if the Rockets can't commit to defense.
Welcome to The Process, Dario Saric
Forget about the 103-101 loss to the Orlando Magic, which featured an unlucky loose ball in the closing seconds that necessitated T.J. McConnell's flagrant-1 and Serge Ibaka's game-winning free throws.
The Philadelphia 76ers' faithful, long-suffering fanbase should be thrilled that Joel Embiid posted yet another strong line—18 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists in only 25 minutes. It should be happy Sergio Rodriguez recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 dimes. But above all else, it should be overjoyed Dario Saric finally showed up.
See if you can figure out which of his early-season lines looks best:
| vs. OKC | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2-12 (.167) | 0-4 (.000) | 1-2 (.500) |
| vs. ATL | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2-9 (.222) | 1-3 (.333) | 0-0 (.000) |
| vs. ORL | 21 | 3 | 1 | 9-15 (.600) | 3-4 (.750) | 0-0 (.000) |
Everything seemed to click for the Croatian rookie.
He was knocking down baseline jumpers, raining in three-pointers (like the one above), finding teammates on backdoor cuts and, most importantly, looking confident. As CSNPhilly's Jessica Camerato mentioned, the game provided him with something he sorely needed:
There will be more rookie struggles for the 22-year-old forward. That much is inevitable.
But Saric has been lost in the shuffle amid the Embiid hype, and that shouldn't happen. Even if he isn't the Sixers' most exciting prospect, he's a key part of their bright future.
Textbook 4-Out, 1-In
Don't be fooled by the Detroit Pistons only knocking down eight treys in their 102-89 victory over the New York Knicks. This was the type of performance head coach Stan Van Gundy needed to see from his troops, as it showcased how dangerous the four-out, one-in offense could remain despite diminished returns from Andre Drummond.
The big man wasn't himself Tuesday night, finishing with nine points and 13 rebounds. He had trouble creating second-chance opportunities on the offensive glass, and the Pistons stagnated when they tried to run offense through him.
But with Ish Smith driving and kicking, plus a plethora of wings providing useful scoring boosts, the Pistons still put together an impressive victory against a struggling opponent. They forced New York to defend the perimeter and then capitalized on the driving lanes toward an unprotected rim when the opposition was overextended.
Detroit wants to see those assists from Smith, in addition to the secondary dimes he racked up when passing to the perimeter and witnessing his teammates subsequently swing the ball around the horn. It needs to have those efficient outings from Tobias Harris (25 points on 8-of-12 shooting), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (19 on 7-of-11) and Marcus Morris (22 points on 9-of-14).
The first half was particularly excellent, as Van Gundy explained after the game:
The wings will become less important when Reggie Jackson returns from knee tendinitis and a UCL sprain in his thumb. But for now, this is the recipe for success when Drummond isn't taking over games, and it was executed to perfection against the Knicks' hapless defense.
Hello, Zach LaVine
We need to begin with an immediate caveat: The Memphis Grizzlies were playing without Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and Chandler Parsons during their Tuesday night blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which makes it tough to draw any meaningful conclusions.
But Zach LaVine still stood out yet again, dropping 31 points, four rebounds and two assists during Minnesota's 116-80 victory. His showcase performance came in just 29 minutes of action and featured an 11-of-18 performance from the field, as well as 5-of-9 from downtown.
Despite a brief injury scare when LaVine landed awkwardly after an alley-oop and rolled his ankle, the shooting guard did everything the T-Wolves could've hoped for.
You can see the soaring ability here:
And how about this shooting?
LaVine improved dramatically after last year's All-Star break. His shot began falling as Minnesota realized he was better off the ball and acted accordingly. Now, he's proving that was no fluke.
Through his first three outings, he's averaging 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists while nailing 52.2 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from three-point territory and 92.3 percent at the charity stripe. Those are All-Star numbers, which suggests he might deserve some of the attention the national audience has reserved for the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Kris Dunn.
Utah Jazz Enter the Fray
The Utah Jazz entered 2016-17 burdened by lofty expectations. Fifty wins seemed like a legitimate target, as did earning home-court advantage in a brutally difficult Western Conference. But as so many up-and-coming squads often do, the Jazz staggered out of the gate.
First came a nine-point loss to the Blazers on opening night and then a win over the Los Angeles Lakers that was far too close for comfort. They followed that split with an offensive struggle against the Los Angeles Clippers that exposed many flaws.
But the Jazz put those issues behind them against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, sprinting out to a 38-point first quarter en route to a 106-91 victory. As the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald noted, it was...different:
Utah knocked down seven triples during the opening period, showcasing ball movement and shooting ability unlike what we've seen in previous outings. George Hill (22 points and seven assists) looked like a natural fit for the offense, while Shelvin Mack (14 points) refused to miss, reminding everyone of just how good he was during the second half of the 2015-16 campaign.
The Jazz's offense came back down to earth over the remaining three periods, but it was already too late for the Spurs. Utah's defense remains suffocating to the point that a 12-minute spurt of unstoppable offense is enough against a true contender in the West.
That's the advantage of the improved 2016-17 roster.
#BrowWatch
Somebody send Anthony Davis some help.
The New Orleans Pelicans big man turned in yet another marquee performance, recording a staggering 35 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks while shooting 9-of-21 from the field and 17-of-18 at the charity stripe. He was constantly on the attack, thriving on both ends and producing highlights like the ones you can see below:
But it wasn't enough. His team moved to 0-4 on the young season—this time with a 117-113 defeat at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.
That's the bad news. The good news—well, kind of good news?—is that Davis has now scored far more points than anyone else in league history during an 0-4 start to a campaign:
- Anthony Davis: 145 points in 2016-17
- Lou Hudson: 126 points in 1971-72
- Allan Houston: 121 points in 2002-03
- Orlando Woolridge: 121 points in 1990-91
- Bob Rule: 115 points in 1968-69
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @fromal09.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com or NBA Math and are current heading into games on Nov. 2.
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