Golden State Warriors: 5 Reasons Keith Smart Needs to Play Stephen Curry More
Don Nelson handpicked Keith Smart as his replacement as Golden State Warriors head coach, so it shouldn’t be a great surprise that his tenure is not going so well. It’s not like Nellie was making great decisions in the latter part of his career.
Smart has been taking a lot of heat for the Warriors' play, mainly because every move he makes doesn’t look, well, smart.
The latest problem is that Smart is not giving Stephen Curry enough playing time. Curry is averaging just 33 minutes a game this year and has played 40 minutes just 12 times. Not exactly cornerstone-player minutes.
It’s not like Curry has a bad attitude and is disrupting teammates. He is a high-quality guy, and there is no real explanation as to why his minutes have decreased. Imagine if Curry was a whiner, how big of a story this would be?
With only eight games to go (thank goodness), Smart needs to play Curry as much as possible, and here’s why.
1. To See If Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis Can Coexist
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Ever since Stephen Curry fell into the Warriors' laps on draft day, the biggest question has been if he and Monta Ellis could coexist. Nearly two years in, we still don’t have an answer.
With Curry currently rotting on the bench, it’s pretty difficult to get an answer to that question.
The smallish guards are both defensive liabilities, and neither one is a true point guard.
That being said, I still think they are dynamic enough players to make a lethal backcourt.
Take these final few games, play both of them 48 minutes a game if you have to. Find out if they can be a winning backcourt. The sooner we all find out if they can be a successful together, the better everyone will be.
2. Curry Needs More Point Guard Experience
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It's the same old adage when looking for a job. You need experience to get hired, but how are you going to gain experience when no one gives you the chance to get it?
Curry is not a traditional point guard. However, he possesses all the tools to be an NBA point. He is an excellent passer, has great court vision, a high basketball IQ and can shoot the lights out.
That’s not my opinion either, that’s his actual scouting report.
The ingredients are there, and he is a talented enough player to make it work as a point guard. However, he is not going to get any better by sitting on the bench.
3. Establish That Curry Is a Big Part of Their Future
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I can already see it. Curry gets tired of being a Warrior, ends up getting traded and thrives elsewhere. Happened too many times in Golden State, so why not keep a talent like his here?
No one is going to improve by getting yanked whenever he is having a cold shooting night or turning the ball over a few too many times.
He needs time and on-court lessons to get through his growing pains, as this is still only his second year in the NBA. He needs the time to grow.
Yes, he has made more mistakes this year than as a rookie, but it could be that he is trying to do too much in his second year.
With the way his minutes are fluctuating, he could be playing timid or playing just to not be benched. No one can be successful playing like that.
Smart (or someone else that has a real future there) needs to pull him aside, let him know that he is a big part of what the Warriors want to do and that it's OK if he makes mistakes. Just let him improve on his errors and leave him in the game.
4. Curry Is Exciting to Watch
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Unless someone is giving me courtside seats or luxury box tickets, there is only a small chance I'm going to drive to Oakland and watch this team play a meaningless game for the rest of this year, especially if Curry is only going to play 20 minutes. If I'm going, I want to watch Curry play.
I don't think I'm alone in that, as Curry is as exciting as any player to watch in the NBA. The Warriors should be playing him just to fill the seats. While Golden State does have one of the best fanbases, even the true diehards would have trouble paying to see this team play these final games without Curry logging major minutes.
5. Keith Smart Can Save His Job
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What does he have to lose?
It sounds like Smart is going to lose his job anyway, so in these last eight games, wouldn’t he want to prove to everyone that he could make a backcourt of Monta Ellis and Curry work?
There is no reason to be playing guys like Vladimir Radmanovic and others who are not going to be back next year. If you are the guy who made a Curry-and-Ellis backcourt look good, even if it’s in the last eight games, they'd have a much tougher time letting you go.
If I was Keith Smart, I would start coaching and playing my cornerstone players like my job is on the line, because it is.
