Quite some performance from Anthony Davis. 59 points and 20 rebounds.
I thought it was a typo, went and watched the footage just to confirm. What a beastly scoreline!
59 points and only 6 were from three pointers, and 10 from free throws. That's 43 points from midrange and in the zone. I've never seen the likes of that, especially from a power forward. I know Barkley put up some points around the 40 point 20 rebound zone, and had a 50+ point game in a playoff run back in his Phoenix days, but 59? And against a Van Gundy team with Drummon patrolling the zone? That's gotta be the best performance of the season, and I'd argue one of the best over the last decade. Sadly, he's another fantastic player wasted on a horrible team. I'm still bummed he signed a long term deal without an opt out clause.
If Durant ends up with GS, it would be an even worse and unfair situation situation (for the rest of the teams) that it is now with Barca's front 3.
Jeez, overreacting are we. They said the same when LeBron sifted to Miami with Bosh, and further back when Barkley and Pippen shifted to Houston to play alongside Drexler and Hakeem. Great players don't always fit together, especially as what made them great was the ball in their hands. When the Warriors are being mentioned, it's always Curry that's highlighted as the key player, but I don't think he is. He's incredibly fortunate to play with skilled players that are comfortable playing 2nd banana to him, and coached by a crew that enable him to express himself in the way he does. On another team, Curry might have never evolved to be the Curry you see today. He's a point guard, that shoots almost 20 shots per game, 10 of them from the three point line! That's taboo territory right there. Generally, the point facilitates for his teammates, and you'd have to go back to Iverson to see another point shoot so much (though Iverson was a horrible shooter), and assists so little.
And it's not as if Curry is surrounded by scrubs, Thompson could easily average 28+ points per game on another team, his game is wonderful to watch, with very smart movement, and he's an assassin from almost anywhere from the three point line inwards. Harrison Barnes is as polished 3&D player as you'll find in the league, and I'm probably criminally underrating him using that tag, but he could average 18+ points starting on another team. Igoudala is averaging 7 points per game. Not because he's become a bit part veteran that's being wisely played at his maximum lvl, but because he's a team first player that has sacrificed shots, points, glamour, to play his role and gain team success. And then you have Draymond Green, the most important player on the Warriors roster, a player that provides intangibles that we still haven't found ways to measure and value, and the rare gem in the current NBA era that absolutely will do anything to benefit the team (I'd argue he's more of a team player than Duncan, that's how highly I respect Green's personality and team ethic).
And lest we forget, there have been great shooters in the NBA, and plenty of fantastic guards, but Curry has gotten the greenlight to shoot from anywhere, at anytime, even outside of the play. Not even Jordan had that sort of freedom. You have to be an extreme outside-of-the-box coaching team to allow something new to come into the game, and Curry's freedom, which is what enables him to be who he is, would have been unacceptable on most teams in any era. I'd argue, it would have been unacceptable on any team in
any era, but one never knows. But certainly, Curry fell into the right team, with the right selfless players, and the a coaching team brave enough to release the shackles.
Now where is Durant going to fit into all this? He doesn't offer that much defensively (downgrade over Barnes), and though he could manage as a glorified spot up shooter waiting in the shadows for Curry to remember him, would that be enough for him. Except, there isn't enough of the ball to go around and make everyone happy, and Durant can't play the point forward position as he isn't the best passer off the double team (he averages 3.6 assists per game in his career), so Draymond Green would continue to play as the point guard of the team (or point forward). It's one thing for Green, Igoudala,Barnes, and Thompson, to give up shots and points for Curry (remember, this is their job, giving up shots affects their stats and their potential salary discussions), but to give up even more for Durant would really be asking a lot from them. Durant averages 19 shots per game, just a little less than Curry, and the average team puts up around 86-89 shots per game. Are they both going to give up shots? Considering they're both MVP candidates, and this is Curry's team, how would they mesh? How would smallball work with Durant as the PF? Which players would they lose in order to bring in Durant?
I can't recall two MVP candidates playing on the same time, possibly Magic and Kareem, but Magic was a point, team first, player so they would have meshed well. Not sure how well Curry and Durant mesh, in skills and in personality. So I'm a bit iffy with the trade rumours, and if it does work out, I'll see it as a step backwards for the Warriors.
