The pros and cons to Steph Curry potentially coming off the bench in Game 2
It's undecided if Warriors' Steph Curry will start or come off the bench
in Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets
>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 SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 17, 2022 at 4:41 p.m. | UPDATED: April 18, 2022 at 2:17
a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/17/the-pros-and-cons-to-steph-curry-potentially-coming-off-the-bench-in-game-2/

Steph Curry is expected to play in Game 2 against Denver on Monday, but
coach Steve Kerr wouldn’t reveal if Curry would be in the starting
lineup. For the near future, at least, it may not be the worst idea for
Curry to play off the bench.

Sure, the Warriors are at their strongest with Curry anchoring a
starting rotation — he’s dominated the league playing the entire first
and third quarters and along with the last six minutes of the second and
fourth frames — and a return to that rotation is the goal.

But off injury, with Jordan Poole in the mix, against a one-dimensional
Denver team, Curry off the bench in the near term can ease his return
and prolong one difficult decision for the coaching staff.

“That’s the greatest player ever to come off the bench,” Draymond Green
said.

Here’s a look at the pros and cons of Bench Steph.

- Pro: Poole remains in the starting lineup

Curry opting into a bench role, for now, delays a coaching decision on
Jordan Poole’s role.

Will Poole start? Or will he move back to the bench?

Poole is playing like a starter — he led the team with 30 points in
Saturday’s Game 1 win and averaged 25 points over his last 20 games
played in the regular season. Plus, he’s shooting 37% from three in 51
games as a starter, as opposed to 31% in 25 games as a reserve.

Kerr has thrown out a three-guard starting lineup featuring Poole, Curry
and Klay Thompson once in the regular season — when the non-injury stars
aligned — that resulted in a thrilling win over the defending champion
Milwaukee Bucks. But it’s to be seen if the Warriors’ staff feels that
starting lineup can be deployed in any match-up.

Asked if Poole will continue to start when Curry returns to starting
form, Kerr said he would “cross that bridge when we get there.”

If Curry sits, the Warriors coaching staff won’t have to cross that
bridge yet. And maybe this situation isn’t the worst thing for Curry
right now.

- Pro: Curry can ease his way back

It should be noted it was partially Curry’s decision to come off the
bench for Game 1. He noticed how long Klay Thompson had to sit out with
his minutes restriction as a starter immediately after his return from a
two-year layoff.

“Watching him go through it when he came back, that was a long time he
was sitting in the first and most of the second (quarter),” Curry said
on Saturday. “That’s a long time sitting if you’re trying to find a
rhythm. I want to play a constant pace throughout the game. And knowing
what my allotment was coming off the bench playing those six minutes in
every quarter was the right move.”

Curry, working with a minutes restriction, shook off a shot attempt-less
first quarter and eased into a 16-point game with 3 3-pointers in
Saturday’s win. Not prolific Curry, but still impactful.

He’s dealt with playoff injuries twice before, recovering from knee
sprains in the 2016 and 2018 playoff runs. In both returns, Curry came
off the bench in his first game back and returned to the starting
rotation the following game. In the 2016 playoffs, though, it appeared
at times he wasn’t playing at full strength as he struggled to get by
defenders. It may benefit the team in the long run if they can get away
with Bench Steph a little bit longer.

- Pro: Curry off the bench can throw a defense off

Green put the advantage best:

“Steph Curry is going to have the ball. Steph Curry is going to have a
rhythm,” he said. “Other guys getting into the flow of the game, now he
comes in. For a defense to go from ‘Man, we’re doing this and this,’ to
‘Oh, S***…Steph Curry is on the floor. That’s very tough to deal with. I
don’t know how long that will last. Another game or two or three, who
knows?”

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- Con: The Warriors are better with Steph Curry as a starter, of course

Curry is one of the best players in the league and the Warriors offense
revolves around him and his gravity. This team is at its very best when
he’s playing a full 35-to-40 minutes in a rotation in which he’s only
sitting once per half. The sooner the team can get back into that flow
with him, the better.

While there are short term advantages to Curry playing one more game off
the bench, he and his teammates have to be anxious to see him back in
the full swing of things. The playoff intensity exponentially grows from
here. And that starts in Game 2.

--
Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter