"Those who win the inside win the world" - this is a winning saying that has been circulated in the NBA for decades, whether it is Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, The era of the four major centers led by Shaquille O'Neal; or the era of parallel import No. 1 draft picks led by Kwame Brown and Greg Oden later, both illustrate the importance of centers to the team and the importance of the team management to the center. degree of importance.
However, with the gradual rise of small ball in recent years, traditional centers seem to have no place to play. Instead, small forwards and point guards are becoming more and more popular...
May 2014 On the 15th, Cole signed a five-year, 25 million contract with the Golden State Warriors, replacing Mark Jackson, who had previously led the team with a mediocre record, as the team's head coach. The arrival of Cole and the small ball system he advocated allowed the Warriors to complete a qualitative change.
In the 14-15 season, with the support of the five-small system, the Warriors and Curry jumped from the sixth record in the Western Conference of 51 wins and 31 losses last season to the league's first record of 67 wins and 15 losses. Curry was also elected as the regular season MVP due to the significant improvement in the team's record. He averaged 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game, beating Harden's 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.
But this year, Curry failed to achieve the ultimate victory. In the playoffs, the Warriors easily passed the Pelicans, Grizzlies and Rockets and made it to the Finals. And fortunately, they didn't face the Cavaliers' Big Three in the finals (Love and Irving retired due to injuries), and finally defeated the Cavaliers led by James 4-2 and won the championship. But as the leader of the team, Curry averaged 26.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, but he failed to win the FMVP as he wished. Instead, he was won by Iguodala, who had 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists...
In the 15-16 season, Curry completely vented his frustration at not winning the FMVP. He averaged 30.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, shooting 45.4% from three-point range, 90.8% from free throws, and 50.4% overall. Because Curry also became the only player in the "180 Club" who averaged 3 points per game and became the unanimous MVP, leading the league into the small ball era.
However, Curry not only failed to win the FMVP this year, but instead led the Warriors to a record of 73 wins in the regular season and a 3-1 lead in the finals, but was defeated by the Cavaliers. -3 successful reversal, missed the championship, naturally unable to win the championship.
In the 2017 and 2018 Finals, Durant scored 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 55.6% shooting rate, and 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 52.6% shooting rate respectively, successfully winning the title. FMVP. While Curry won the championship, he was never able to gain more personal honors.
In the 19th playoffs, Durant was injured in the series with the Rockets, which brought the Warriors back to the era of the Splash Brothers. The Warriors were not in trouble without Durant, because Curry did not disappoint this time. When facing the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals, he averaged 36.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game, shooting 46.9% from the field, and led the Warriors 4-4. 0 eliminated the Trail Blazers with Lillard and McCollum. Curry's perfect performance in this series also gave him the title of "King of the Western Conference Finals"...
Unfortunately, due to Thompson's injury and Durant's Achilles tear in the finals, It is impossible for the Warriors to win the series just relying on Curry's performance of 30.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. Naturally, Curry will miss the FMVP again. So much so that some fans were still discussing after the game: As long as Curry is missing Thompson and Durant, he simply cannot lead the team to win.
In fact, it’s not that Curry’s performance during the five-year Triple Crown period was not outstanding enough. What he really lacked was to turn the tide in the finals and win the FMVP trophy to prove himself...
This year, with Durant leaving and Thompson retiring due to injury, this should have been the best time for Curry to prove himself.
The media also released predictions early: Without Durant and Thompson, the Warriors may not be able to become the best team in terms of record, but they are very likely to release a Curry who is far more terrifying than the 73-win season. He will once again win the scoring title and... MVP...
Who would have thought that not long after the start of the season, Curry fractured his left hand during a layup and missed most of the season. Curry's long absence has also given rise to another negative voice: Curry is simply "faking an injury." His injury has long since healed, and he is simply unwilling to come back after seeing the team's poor record. I think back then, during the 2019 Finals, Durant was also surrounded by voices of "faking injury": the reason was that he missed many games, and even if he came back, it would be difficult to win FMVP, so he was unwilling to play.
But what is the reality? The sensitive Durant forced his comeback without fully recovering from his injury, but ended up with a torn Achilles tendon. Who can be responsible for this?
Just when people were looking forward to the Splash Brothers uniting again and once again breaking people's expectations, Thompson was injured in a recent training match without any warning, and was eventually diagnosed with a torn Achilles tendon in his right leg. The new season has not yet started and it has been reimbursed again.
This also means that the Warriors will once again lack a general in the new season, and Thompson also occupies more than 30 million of the team's salary space, which will greatly affect the Warriors' subsequent reinforcement operations. And Curry will once again face a time without Thompson and without Durant, just like last season.
In fact, Curry's personal condition was not good in the five games he returned after missing Thompson and Durant last season. He averaged only 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game, shooting 40.2% from the field. His scoring was the lowest in his career in the past seven years, and his 40.2% shooting percentage was even the lowest in his career...
It’s just that For Curry, his status can be adjusted through games. The reason why his statistics were so mediocre last season was that he did not play a lot of games, and the data from five games cannot be used as a standard to confirm his personal status. If there were no injuries, Curry would have no difficulty averaging 28+5+6 per game in the new season. There would be no problem of proving himself again. In fact, he would not have to prove himself at all. The focus of the new season and the real problem that the Warriors should face are actually: Without Durant + Thompson in the new season, only the "big talker" - Green, and the one holding the thermos cup - Wiggins, are left. I don’t know if the No. 2 pick, Wiseman, can fulfill his talent. How should Curry lead the team to perform well and reach the finals...
Finally, when it comes to whether Curry can prove himself in the new season, This is a false proposition. If you want to prove it, with 73 wins in the season, 3 championships, and leading the small ball era, he has already proven himself and proved that he is a super giant. As for "certain groups" who have been clamoring that Curry must win the FMVP in the new season to prove himself, then I would like to ask, who else in the league can lead this Warriors to successfully win the championship?