Golden State OK without Curry

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Travis Hughes, I am from Knoxville, TN and I love sports. I will be devoting this blog to sports and big stories within the world of sports.

This past week the Golden State Warriors finished off the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs winning the series 4-1. This was an expected result, but what the sports world wasn’t expecting was that the Warriors would be without their superstar Steph Curry most of the series.

Curry went down in the first half of Game 1 with a minor ankle sprain and was out for the next 2 games. Although after winning the first game, the Warriors seemed to miss Curry in his absence, going 1-1 while he was injured.

Curry returned in Game 4 and, while still not having the greatest night, led Golden State to a solid performance in the first half. However, as the half was winding down, Curry slipped on a wet spot on the court and he fell to the court clutching his knee.

The Warriors ended up winning the game, but feared the worst for their superstar point guard. The day after the game Curry had an MRI revealing a grade one knee sprain, an injury that takes 2-4 weeks to recover from. Golden State could breathe a sigh of relief, similar situations have led to major ligament tears in the knee, which could take up to a year to recover from.

However, without Curry, many wondered, including me, if the Warriors could make it 2 weeks without being eliminated from the playoffs without their leader on the court. Curry, in the midst of all the questions, came forward and said, “I slipped. I fell. I’m hurt. My team is awesome. The end,” according to the sports journal, displaying his confidence in his team. But was that confidence deserved?

On Wednesday night the Rockets went to California facing elimination at the hands of the Warriors, who had no Steph Curry, having an opportunity to upset arguably the greatest team in NBA history. They had no shortage of motivation.

How did Golden State respond to losing their star? They only responded with a 33 point drubbing of the Rockets in a 114-81 victory. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson stepped up in a huge way for Golden State, raining 3 point shots all day over the Rockets defense.

Golden State is figuring out how to play without their star player. According to espn.com, during the regular season without Curry, the Warriors were -140 in point differential. In the playoffs, they are +66.

The Warriors are learning to do what few teams can. We saw this when LeBron James left Cleveland to go to Miami. Cleveland went from contending for NBA titles to the worst team in the league.

Now don’t get me wrong, Steph Curry will be missed in many ways, he has the purest jumpshot in the NBA and has amazing playmaking skills. However, if the Warriors continue to play at the same high level without him, they can still beat most teams in the playoffs.

In any case, the Warriors have been and will continue to be one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA and win or lose, they will always be remembered for their accomplishments this season.