5 Key Points that prove GSW are mortal without Curry
Steph Curry, not Kevin Durant, is the face of the Golden State Warriors. Ever since Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, the majority of NBA fans have thought that it was Durant pulling the Warriors up, and leading them to championships. Since Curry has been out, though, with an injured groin, the Warriors have finally looked like a mortal team again, one that can be beaten, despite Durant playing a high number of minutes.
Just over a few days ago, the Warriors were 11-2, torching the West, and Steph was MVP favorite, averaging around 30 points a game. Stunningly, Durant was averaging near 30 points a game too, playing his best. Now, 5 games later, the Warriors are 12-7, and some conflicts have come up in the Warriors organization.
There's no doubting that Durant is an absolutely incredible player; he has a body that lets him tower above the competition, and never take a contested shot, he has an insane vertical, he's great on defense, he's a high IQ player - he's as good as anyone in the world. But he's not the most important player to the Warriors.
Stephen Curry, easily, is the most important part of the Warriors offense. As a skilled basketball player, with an incredible shooting prowess, an efficient net rating, great passing ability, and being a great teammate, he is integral to Warriors' victories, and the mess that the KD-led Warriors are making right now is a clear indication of the same.
More than how Curry scores himself, the way he allows his teammates to score is a work of art. Scoring, and shooting beyond the arc is just a shadow of what he really does for the Warriors - dismantling defenses with his incredible driving and ball-handling ability, setting his teammates up with pretty passes, and just being a great teammate are few things that he excels at.
#1 Warriors wins/losses with and without Curry
Wins are the best measure of a team's success, an apt indicator of how well they are doing against the competition. Kevin Durant joined the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in 2016, making them one of the most feared teams in NBA history.
KD was expected to take over the team, and push them to new heights; he was expected by some to be a better playmaker than Steph Curry, causing a lot of people to doubt Curry's contribution to the team after KD joined.
Well, in just over two seasons since KD joined the Warriors, the team is 21-20 when Durant has played, and Curry has not. In 41 games where Curry sits, but KD is on the court, the team is a mere 51%, a shadow of what it is with Steph on the court. In contrast, though, when Durant is off the court, and Curry plays, the team is a solid 25-9, which is around 73%.
Roughly calculating, the Warriors would be 60-22 with Curry on the court, but Durant sitting through an entire season. A Warriors team without KD, but with Curry, would've won one more game than the 2017-18 Raptors, at the top of the Eastern Conference with 59 wins, and two more games than the 2017-18 Warriors.
Obviously, this isn't an accurate depiction, but still, when you look at the flip side, it is troubling. With Curry sitting, and Durant playing every game, the warriors would be a mere 42-40, not even good enough to make the playoffs, in either conference, by the 2017-18 standings.