By: Logan Hill
Stephen Curry has been on a TEAR recently, doing things that have never quite been done before in the NBA.
Since April 1, Curry has been lethal, carrying an undermanned Golden State squad as they fight for the postseason, while also vaulting himself squarely into the MVP conversation. He has recorded standout performance after standout performance, and has reminded many NBA fans just how dominant he can be at his best.
Suiting up for 10 of the Warriors’ 11 games so far in April, Curry has averaged 40.8 points per game, while also dishing out 4.4 assists and grabbing 6.2 rebounds. His scoring has come quickly and in bunches, as he has made roughly seven three-pointers per game while shooting a dazzling 50.3 Percent from the field. As of Monday, Curry has overtaken Bradley Beal for the league lead in points per game, with an average of 31.4 points per contest.
Curry’s first MVP-like performance of the stretch came back on April 12, in a home matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Facing off against current league MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic, Curry exploded for 53 points, making 10 three-point field goals and also going 15-for-16 from the free throw line. Curry also became the Warriors’ all-time leading scorer, surpassing NBA Legend Wilt Chamberlain. His scoring carried the Warriors to a victory, and kicked off a pretty good stretch of games for the three-time NBA Champion.
Two days later in Oklahoma City, Curry doubled down on his performance against the Nuggets, hitting 11 of his 3-point attempts, en route to 42 points in a 147-109 victory over the rebuilding Thunder. The contest marked the fourth time this season Curry had made at least 10 threes in a game. The bad news for the rest of the league? He didn’t stop there.
Following a 4-13 3PT performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers (He still had 33 points and the Warriors won by 18), Curry got back to his scoring ways in a primetime matchup with the Boston Celtics. He made 11 more three-pointers on almost 58 percent from deep, and took the Celtics to the wire. Curry finished the game with 47 points, but the Celtics secured the win, thanks in part to a late dagger three from Kemba Walker. Despite the loss, Curry continued to set the league on fire, with highlight plays such as this spectacular and-1 three.
On Monday, in a matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, who currently sit atop the Eastern Conference, Curry went to work again. He shot 10-17 from deep and also made 11 free throws, chipping in 49 total points in a 107-96 Warriors’ win. The Performance officially gave him the league lead for scoring, with just 14 games left for Golden State.
While performances like these may just seem like the norm for the once Unanimous league MVP, a little context goes a long way.
Curry now has 6 games this season with at least 10 made three-pointers, extending his NBA record to 21 total games with at least that many makes from deep. For comparison, fellow splash brother Klay Thompson is second on that list, with 5 total games. This season alone, there has only been five other performances with at least 10 three-pointers made league-wide.
Coming up on three years since Curry and the Warriors’ last hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy, Golden State finds itself on new ground than it has been accustomed to in recent history. Since then, the Warriors’ endured Klay Thompson suffering back-to-back season-ending injuries, Kevin Durant leaving for Brooklyn, Curry missing most of 2019 with a broken hand and a league worst 15-50 record following five straight trips to the NBA Finals. With a new season and a resurgent Curry, Golden State currently sits in 9th place in the Western Conference with a chance to make the postseason via the play-in tournament. Regardless of how things end up for the Warriors’ at season’s end, it will be a long time before anyone forgets how dominant Curry is from beyond the arc.
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Topp of the Hill 