The Golden State Warriors have one of the greatest back-courts, and two of the greatest shooters of all time on their roster. I guess three if you want to count Kevin Durant, but for the sake of this article, he doesn’t count. Here’s why….
This article is to point out that, even though we have seen some great historical shooting from the tandem that is known as the “Splash Brothers”, we never really see them “call game”.
What do I mean by “call game”?
I mean, of all the crazy, wild, unbelievable shots that Steph and Klay has hit, none of them have been walk-off game winners. In fact, we have seen both players have their share of struggles when it comes to crunch time numbers.
This is why I have excluded Kevin Durant.
Now, in defense of them, they’re not really in these situations that often, but when they are, it’s not really the Steph and Klay show. In fact, according to NBAminer.com, Steph Curry ranked 15th among all players in the clutch. Klay isn’t even in the top 20.
As we go into game 3 of the NBA finals, the Warriors are favored by six over the Toronto Raptors, and it leaves me to question “how?” and “why?”.
Coming off of game 2, there’s no evidence to prove that the Warriors should be favored by that much.
for starters, Golden State isn’t that great of a home team. They’re good(30-11), but certainly not great. During the regular season and postseason, we have seen them collapse in ways that would puzzle the average fan. Most notable losses include the Dallas Mavericks by 35, the Phoenix Suns(in which Klay Thompson kind of blamed the fans for not providing enough energy for the Warriors to take the game serious), the Celtics by 33(infamous plane ride chemistry game for Boston) and most recently, two losses on their home floor in the first round of the playoffs(at full strength) to the LA Clippers. One loss was due to losing a 30-point lead. So there shouldn’t be anyone, in my opinion, treating the next two games as a sure thing for the Warriors all because it’s going to the Oracle.
Secondly, the Warriors have been bit by the injury bug very badly. Kd is gone and possibly to never return. Boogie is back from a torn quad but who knows how long that’s going to hold up(knocks on wood) Kevon Looney is out indefinitely with a collar bone fracture thanks to Kawhi Leonard, and lastly, most recently, and 2nd most importantly, Klay Thompson is questionable for game 3 with a hamstring issue.
All of these factors can play a key role in not only game 3, but the rest of the series.
With most of the weight being on Steph’s shoulders, will we finally see a “walk-off” Steph moment?
Who knows….
Warriors may continue to handle “biz” to where Steph never has to prove he has the “clutch gene”.
If the Warriors win their fourth ring in 5 seasons, who cares about how “clutch” it was, right?
NIXTH SCALE SPORTS 