Will Warriors guard Stephen Curry have the longest prime ever?
At nearly 35 years of age, Curry just willed the Warriors to wins over the Kings and Cavaliers; he now averages 33.2 points per game on the season while shooting 53 percent overall, 44 percent from 3, and 91 percent from the free-throw line.
Curry is the oldest player to score back-to-back 40-point games since Michael Jordan in 2002. Fittingly, forward Draymond Green says Curry’s ability to read and control what’s happening on the court — which was Jordan’s specialty — has seen “absolutely amazing” growth this season.
… Green’s biggest early-season takeaway is the complete control he has over the most nuanced aspects of the game.
“It’s the reads,” Green said. “Like, he is setting all this stuff up. You remember down the stretch where Loon set the flat screen and he walked into the 3 with Jarrett Allen. He set that up. It’s not so much what he is doing — we’ve seen that for years — but I think it is how he is doing it and how he is putting guys in the spots that he wants them. The growth there is absolutely amazing.”
Anthony Slater/The Athletic
If Curry’s game is seeing “absolutely amazing” growth, well that’s just sensational. As The Athletic’s Anthony Slater details in his report, Curry noticed that the Cavaliers big men were giving him more room off of screens, so Curry instructed his teammates to spread out, and he’d handle the rest. You can see the play below (it’s the second highlight), along with plenty of other eye-popping plays from Curry down the stretch against the Cavs.
Here’s part of Curry’s take on the situation. He’s always had confidence, but it seems to have hit a new level.
Curry looks like his prime could go on for longer than nearly anyone. He’s done it all in the NBA, as Green alluded to. But now, he’s doing it differently — and in a more deadly fashion.
That’s just nuts. At nearly 35 years old, he’s only now unleashing truly Michael Jordan-like powers and controlling the game. If he can get help from his Warriors teammates, Curry’s legacy can reach new heights as well. That’s a wild, incredible dream for Warriors fans, and a potential nightmare for the other 29 clubs in the association.