Save us, Steph.
For all the talk about “Strength in Numbers,” league wreckage, and the Warriors’ collectivism, the truth is that the Warriors call on their superstar to carry them to victory when the going gets tough.
Time and time again, he’s come through.
And the Warriors need to hop on Curry’s back again on Thursday.
The playoffs might be in their early days, but the going is already tough.
With Draymond Green suspended, the Warriors down 2-0 to the Kings in the teams’ first-round playoff series, and the season — and perhaps even the Warriors’ dynasty — on the line, Curry will have to summon his superhero best in Game 3.
No pressure, though.
What stands out about this situation isn’t merely how early it is in the playoffs but also that Curry has been good in this first-round series. Yes, he only made 3-of-13 3-point attempts in Game 2, but he’s shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, 33 percent from beyond the arc, and is averaging 29 points per game.
That should be good enough for a first-round series, but Curry’s teammates have not been good enough against a Kings team that has played unflinching basketball.
And with everything on the line Thursday, the Warriors cannot count on Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, or a mystery man to step up and save the day.
They can put it on Curry, though.
They did it in Game 5 of the 2015 NBA Finals. Curry scored 27 points to give the Warriors a 3-2 series lead.
They did in Game 7 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals. Curry scored 36 — 15 in the fourth quarter — to put the Warriors back in the Finals.
They did it in Game 6 of the 2019 Western Conference Finals (33 second-half points to finish the Rockets) and Game 3 of the subsequent NBA Finals (47 points, but in a losing effort).
They did in Game 4 of last year’s NBA Finals, arguably the finest performance of Curry’s career, when he scored 43 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to pull the Dubs even with the Celtics at 2-2. We know what happened after that.
For a player who is consistently chided in the national media for “not doing it on his own,” he sure has carried his team to some massive wins.
And while Game 3 of a first-round series seems out of place with those historic performances, this is the Warriors’ current station.
If Curry can’t push the Warriors to a victory Thursday, there won’t be more prestigious games to come this postseason or, perhaps, for years to come.
The Kings have thrown the kitchen sink at Curry through two games, with Sacramento coach Mike Brown using his six years on the Warriors’ bench to his advantage.
Yet Curry has still found a way to score. He’s made some ridiculous 3-pointers in this series. He’s also the only Warrior willing to drive to the hoop against a defense lacking rim protection.
And he’s done this despite not being the team’s true point guard.
But with Green barred from Chase Center Thursday, that will change. The ball will be in Curry’s hands more often in Game 3, and what he does with it will determine the game’s outcome and, in all likelihood, the Warriors’ season.
Curry’s greatness turned a moribund organization into the most valuable franchise in the world. He has been the backstop — a personal guarantee of success.
And these are the moments that inspire Curry through his off-season workouts — the reason he refuses to exit his peak.
Can he summon another all-time performance and give the Warriors a chance to win this series?
It’s a tall order.
But as I learned a long time ago with Curry, anything is possible.
