Stephen Curry, Chris Paul Injuries Create Tremendous Opportunity Out West
Let's give thanks that Stephen Curry didn't hurt his knee in one of the final regular-season games pursuing that record 73rd victory.
We never would've heard the end of it from the preservationists.
The "better safe than sorry" propaganda would've found a rapt audience, because it's oh so easy to be a back-seat driver instead of the achiever actually determined to steer a team forward.
Chris Paul's broken shooting hand suffered Monday night provided more fodder for the "dangers" of actually playing basketball. Even now, there is a faulty school of thought that the Golden State Warriors should've been even more cautious with Curry's ankle sprain, because some residual weakness might've contributed to this knee sprain that is jeopardizing the Warriors' season.
It's all folly. You do the best you can—you push to become the best you can—and sometimes the unexpected, disappointing injury happens. That's the sporting life.
The challenge in front of Curry and Paul, two of the top three point guards in this league, is their fight not to wonder, "Why me?"
Yet there is a more inspirational lesson rising out of the misfortune that befell them:
Who really put in the work behind the scenes to prepare for this exact opportunity? Who is truly ready for what fate unexpectedly provided? Who is ready to assume a higher profile, with no regard for how things should have played out?
This isn't just about Shaun Livingston or Curry's other Warriors teammates. It isn't just about Austin Rivers or Paul's Los Angeles Clippers co-stars either.
This is an unforeseen opportunity provided to virtually everyone still alive in the Western Conference playoff bracket.
Welcome to prime time, Portland Trail Blazers
Immediately, it's there for no one more than Portland's Damian Lillard. All of a sudden, a season wherein Lillard and the Trail Blazers had to be happy just to make the playoffs offers a clearer path to the conference finals.
Win two of the final three against a Clippers team with its three primary scoring options hurt (Paul out probably at least three weeks, Blake Griffin questionable with his unshakable quad strain for Game 5 Wednesday and J.J. Redick clearly off balance from his bruised heel), and the Blazers are the team slotted to draw the Warriors without Curry for most or all of the second round.
No NBA analyst could've dreamed the Blazers' stock would be so high on this date, but that's why you don't play the stock market with your retirement account. If you're going to invest, you invest for the long term and deal with the ups and downs that come as you make that lasting progress.
Warriors co-stars get their spotlight
The deep Warriors have plenty of guys capable of doing more while Curry is out, but Shaun Livingston's confidence is just as great as Draymond Green's or Andre Iguodala's.
Livingston won't try to do too much—he trusts his teammates too much for that—and his tremendously efficient post-up game is about to get quite a showcase.
Klay Thompson is obviously the guy who will get more shots as a one-two punch with Green, and Thompson's shooting reputation certainly precedes him. The Warriors have played the equivalent of a little more than eight full games to this point in the season with Green and Thompson on the court but not Curry…and Thompson is scoring 35.1 points per 48 minutes in those situations, per NBAwowy.com.
Little hope for Clippers supporting cast
Make no mistake: It absolutely jeopardizes the Warriors in the later rounds if Curry can't come back as his usual self. But his self-assured teammates' willingness to seize their moments is why Golden State without Curry was still a good bet to beat the Clippers with Paul in the second round.
Now that Paul is out, it's hard to find any potential silver linings emerging from his supporting cast.
Blake Griffin entered the playoffs with no chance to be nearly his best self after his long layoff and limited practice time; both he and Redick are ailing now, too. DeAndre Jordan is shooting 32.5 percent on free throws so far in the playoffs and not about to break through on offense. Jeff Green and Wesley Johnson are two of the softest guys in the league.
Rivers and Jamal Crawford will give it their best shots, at least. They have that mindset to be prepared to do more. But Rivers is limited in skills, and Crawford, 36, was far less dynamic this season despite another Sixth Man of the Year award.
It's hard to get excited about the Clippers' readiness to do what Paul won't be able to do anymore.
The de facto favorites
Will Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker or Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook wind up teaching us a powerful lesson in preparedness? The Spurs never wavered in their mission all season, posting their own franchise-best record instead of being intimidated by Golden State's dominance. The Thunder kept trying to process Billy Donovan's new message about the superstars' need to trust the others despite being on the outside looking in at the Warriors and Spurs, aware theirs could be a fleeting pairing of stars.
What was already going to be a proving ground in the playoffs has become a wider path to success for many.
Let's find out who was truly prepared to make a run at unexpected glory.
Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.
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