The Golden State Warriors prevailed over the Washington Wizards tonight in a game that Stephen Curry, greatest point guard alive, didn’t score a single point in the first half. No need to adjust your reading glasses folks, it’s absolutely true.
In fact, the Dubs actually held a slim halftime lead without Curry getting in the scoring column. That’s both a credit to the Strength in Numbers approach Golden State has employed for over a decade, and a spotlight on how cursed the nine-win Wizards team is right now.
Curry finished with 18 points on the night, but it was a reminder that he hasn’t been making things look Stephortless recently. It was just a couple nights ago that he had to deal with slump and fatigue allegations:
Last night’s game against the Wiz was Curry’s third straight game shooting less than 36% from the field. Per Stat Head, this is only the fifth time in his entire career (spanning from being drafted 7th overall in 2009 to winning four championships) that he’s had such a streak.
Vs. Hornets: 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field (35.7%), 3-of-11 shooting from 3PT (27.3%)
Vs. Nuggets: 20 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the field (35.7%), 1-of-10 shooting from 3PT (10%)
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Vs. Wizards: 18 points on 6-of-21 shooting from the field (28.6%), 4-of-17 shooting from 3PT (25%)
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For a guy who shoots as much as he does, with his relatively diminutive basketball height at 6-foot-3, and with the degree of distance/difficulty in his attempts? That’s a testament to how consistent he’s been, and why he’s been the greatest shooter of all time for years.
For reference, Steve Nash had 18 such streaks of three straight games with sub-36% shooting from the field. Kobe Bryant had 14 such streaks, while Trae Young already has 10 such streaks himself.
If the Warriors want to continue their climb out o fht ebottom of the Westenr Confrnce standings and make a stake on title contention, they’ll need Curry to be on his A-game. But it’s nice to know that his team can pick him up on some nights where he doesn’t have the scoring mojo flowing.