Stephen Curry sat on the visitors’ bench at the Target Center absorbing a 15-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the towel draped over his head unable to hide his frustration and disappointment.
Another game lost that the Golden State Warriors should have won.
Curry is a patient man and it takes a lot for him to pop off. As crushing as the Wolves’ loss was and as much as it bothered Curry, it still wasn’t enough to make him say something pointed.
After the Warriors’ collapse against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, the whispers of concern around the team turned into roars. Golden State was officially a hot mess. The Warriors had lost for the eighth time in 10 games. They had fallen to third in the Westen Conference standings. They had lost to a team that was eight games under .500.
Curry had seen enough, his limit reached. Instead of a flurry of points, he let loose with a flurry of words at the end of which he said: “Right now, if the playoffs started tomorrow, we’d be in trouble.”
The Warriors have been in this tailspin since the weeks heading into the All-Star break, and now it’s reached a pivotal point. Either they will use these 18 remaining games to get back to what made them so formidable and contenders for half the season, or they will be shamefully eliminated in the first or second round as they continue down a path that Curry describes as “giving into a losing mentality.”
“We’re not that team,” he said. “I’m not going to let us be that team.”
Here’s the deal with that comment: While there have been things beyond the team’s control, such as Draymond Green’s injury, there are also things within the team’s control that can be changed. And frankly, that change begins with Curry.
This isn’t about his production, despite what many consider to be a down year of 26 points, five rebounds, and six assists per game and the poorest shooting of his career (37.9 percent from three, 43.2 percent overall). This is about Curry setting the tone of the team. It’s about his passivity at times.
For all of the attributes that make Curry generally beloved — his selflessness and calm demeanor, these also can be flaws on the court. He’s too flexible and too selfless at times and, despite his noble intentions, it’s to the detriment of his team.
In this era of player empowerment, when many superstars wield their power at will, Curry is subtle about how he navigates. However, there are times when subtleties don’t register, when they fail to produce change.
For too long he chose to keep quiet about a rotation pattern, now changed, that clearly wasn’t working for him. The 12/6 rotation pattern he’d played for eight years could have been reinstituted months ago if he’d only spoken up.
For the face of a franchise, a superstar, and one of the marquee names in the league, Curry does not lean into his power enough.
It’s not just about rotation patterns. It’s also what’s happening on the court lately. Even as the defacto facilitator, it doesn’t make sense for Curry to take no more than two or three shots in a half or go an entire quarter without one.
Curry calling an audible on his behalf in terms of minutes and possessions does not make him selfish. It keeps him locked in and engaged. Having to pull teammates to the side and check them doesn’t make him tyrannical. It commands respect and expectations.
The Warriors are a team that’s struggling and currently out of order. They are letting a losing mindset infiltrate. Curry says that he’s not going to let that happen on his watch. With that said, he needs to set the tone. Stand completely in his power as the leader of this team. Recognize the moments when he needs to set the table for others and when he needs to eat for the good of the team.
Like that January game against the Rockets, Curry kicked a chair Saturday night. But this time it was with his words. Those words were warning shots. There are 18 games. Eighteen chances for the Warriors to lock in. It’s up to Curry to set the tone. If he needs to scream, apply pressure in postgame comments, so be it.
Kicking another chair for good measure wouldn’t be bad either.
Oh, he’s mad now!
