Kurtenbach: Steph Curry’s irreplicable impact was evident in Game 1,
even from the Warriors’ bench
Golden State Warriors Playoffs: Steph Curry didn't have a big game in
his return from a foot injury, but the Warriors' blowout win had his
fingerprints all over it.
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) warms up before Game 1 of their NBA first round playoff
series against the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center in San Francisco,
Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) warms up before Game 1 of their NBA first round playoff
series against the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center in San Francisco,
Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: April 17, 2022 at 10:39 a.m. | UPDATED: April 18, 2022 at
2:24 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/17/kurtenbach-steph-currys-irreplicable-impact-was-evident-in-game-1-even-from-the-warriors-bench/

It took Steph Curry a bit of time to look like Steph Curry again.

After all, it took a bit of time for him to even enter Saturday’s game.

The Warriors’ superstar came off the bench for Game 1 of Golden State’s
first-round series with the Denver Nuggets. After a month to the day he
sprained his left foot and suffered a bone bruise, Curry sat for the
first six minutes of Saturday’s contest.

And early returns showed he was not worth the wait.

Of course, you can forgive the Warriors’ superstar if after coming off
the bench, he needed a few quarters and a handful of shots to regain his
excellence after a month and a few minutes on the sidelines.

But Curry eventually found his game in Game 1 of the Warriors’
first-round series with the Nuggets Saturday, and that opens up a world
of possibilities for Golden State moving forward in the series and the
playoffs.

One could make the argument that the Warriors didn’t need Curry last
night. After all, the box score shows that he was only on the court for
21 minutes and his best play came after the contest was well in hand.

But the box score can only tell you so much in a contest like Saturday’s.

No, Curry — even in his rusty state — was a vital part of the Warriors’
winning effort.

He is Steph Curry, after all.

His presence on the court was immense, as expected, even if it first
appeared later than expected.

Curry’s trademark gravity — the immense defensive attention he demands —
kept the Nuggets honest. And with him, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, and
Andrew Wiggins spacing the floor in the critical moments of the game,
Denver stood no chance of defending Draymond Green’s passes or the Pour
Four’s shots.

But it wasn’t just the new “death” lineup. (I promise someone will come
up with a cooler name.)

“He’s still Stephen Curry and still made huge shots for us,” Thompson
said. “He’s still plus-17, and just his gravity and the threat of him
being out there being out there is the best.”

There will only be more space, more time, and more open looks for
Curry’s teammates in Games 2 and beyond.

After all, Curry will play more, and he provided every reason to doubt
that he will go 0-for-his-first-five, with his first field goal of the
game coming with 1:14 remaining in the second quarter.

“It was nice to get back out there,” Curry said. “It was nice to feel a
playoff vibe again. Obviously, it’s different coming off the bench and
trying to make the most of the minutes that are appropriate right now
and had to kind of control adrenaline for the first six minutes until I
got out there and everything went fine.”

“Right now it’s literally about… taking that confidence from Game 1: how
do you double down on that next game, find your niche, put in niche
plays, your go-tos, pet plays that you want to form an identity around,
whatever lineups are going to be the most potent?”

The Nuggets will make adjustments. They are too well-coached to not
counter the Warriors’ pace-and-space lineups.

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>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: Golden State Warriors’ Jordan
Poole (3) is congratulated by Stephen Curry (30) after drawing a foul
and scoring back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets in the second
quarter of Game 1 of their NBA first round playoff series at Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2022. (Ray
Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

But, simply put, they are unequipped to battle the Warriors’ best
five-man unit and the incisiveness that new lineup showed on both ends
in their first in-game minutes together on the court this season.

Putting Nikola Jokic in the corner against Andrew Wiggins won’t change
the paradigm. Wiggins is simply one cut away from destroying Denver’s
defense, and you know Poole, Thompson, and yes, Curry, will take full
advantage

There’s too much shooting when the Warriors have Curry, Thompson, Poole,
and Wiggins on the floor together. There’s too much control when it’s
Green or Andre Iguodala running the point or freeing teammates with
perimeter screens.

The Warriors have struggled with lineups with two non-shooters on the
floor this season. It allowed opposing defenses to key in on the true
offensive threats.

No such problem existed Saturday. There should not be such an issue in
this series against the Nuggets.

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A new problem did show up on Saturday, though. It’s a champagne problem
of the highest order.

What do the Warriors do with the starting lineup now?

Curry made no fuss about coming off the bench. A superstar who is
willing to do that only comes around once in a generation — Warriors
coach Steve Kerr is right that Curry is the “tiny Tim Duncan.” Never
take that for granted.

But Poole seems to care about starting. Such is the mindset of an
uber-confident — bordering on brash — young player.

Who goes to the bench if the Dubs start both? It’s not Green or
Thompson. Would Kerr bench Andrew Wiggins? That seems harsh, especially
after a great game. And all Kevon Looney has done is be a rock for the
Warriors and the team’s preferred defender of Jokic.

Whichever way the Warriors go — the most likely option is Poole to the
bench — it’s clear that they have found a new level of play this postseason.

And things are only bound to improve as the team’s superstar rounds into
form.