The Golden State Warriors could beat the Houston Rockets in a seven-game series without Stephen Curry playing one minute on the court. That’s just how lopsided this first-round Western Conference matchup really is.
Curry was a firebrand in the 20 minutes he did play Saturday before his ankle injury forced him out of the lineup. He scored 24 points, hauled in seven rebounds, dished two assists and stole three balls — a solid night’s work for any player.
But take his numbers out of the overall equation and the Warriors still would have probably won the game. As it was, they came away from Game 1 with a 26-point victory.
After the game, head coach Steve Kerr revealed in his post-game news conference that Curry is questionable for Game 2 on Monday. Curry himself believes he will play, but this shouldn’t be his decision to make.
Kerr shouldn’t even think twice about letting the sharpshooter play, despite Curry’s desire to contribute to his team’s success.
The Rockets aren’t going to come close to threatening the Warriors in this series unless an entire rash of injuries hits Golden State’s roster in the next week or so. Based on simple effort alone, Golden State shows more “want to” than Houston, despite this being a repeat year for the Dubs.
In fact, while nobody wants to see Curry sit out any games, it might not be a bad idea to rest the point guard for the next couple of contests. Let his ankle heal up nicely and give him some well-deserved down time for the home stretch.
Because as easy as Houston is right now, there is at least one other team in the west that can make life difficult for Golden State, and for Curry. Primarily, we’re talking about the San Antonio Spurs, who feature the best coaching staff in the Association, and its best defensive squad, from top to bottom.
Before they ever reach the Western Conference Finals, though, to take on the Spurs, the Warriors will face either the Portland Trailblazers or Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams feature top guards who will force Curry to expend energy on both ends of the court, so any chance he can get to conserve energy now will be beneficial.
Resting Curry for a game or two now isn’t going to keep the Warriors from repeating as NBA champs. Letting him back into the lineup before it’s prudent, however, could be a game-changer in this regard.