It wasn't the Usual Suspects that Steph Curry joined on the court last night after a 58 game absence - no Benecio Del Toro or Chazz Palminteri in sight. Matter of fact, the majority of Curry's supporting cast on Thursday night you wouldn't exactly call Oscar worthy.
The current iteration of the Warriors lacks the star power it had just one year ago - Kevin Durant is in Brooklyn now, and Klay Thompson is sidelined. Curry, on a team that had the worst record in the West at 14-48 going into last night, returned fully healed from the broken hand he suffered in November that required two surgeries and him to sit out 3+ months. It was a Finals rematch against the Raptors, but lacked the star power of a year ago. Golden State hung tough, but ended up losing by 8, 121-113. All was not lost for the Warriors though, as they got their superstar back, who, even in defeat, provided the must see TV that he is known for.
Right from the jump, you could tell the energy in the building was different. For most of the season, the Warriors have played with a collection of talent not known to a lot of NBA fans. With Curry's return last night though, Chase Center was loud, and every time Curry touched the ball the crowd roared in anticipation of something spectacular.
Curry received the Raptors' attention early on, guarded tightly and double teamed, but found his open teammates for easy opportunities. 2 minutes and change into the game, he found Andrew Wiggins under the basket with a smooth left handed behind the back pass. His signature moment of the night came on a trademark Curry play. With Eric Paschall posting near the left elbow, Curry worked around a screen on the other side of the floor, curling beyond the three point line. In stride, he caught a bounce pass from Paschall, having to hoist with the shot clock at 0.5. Swish.
It was one of the few times he would get free on the night, as the Raptors employed double teams to get the ball out of his hands. Curry though displayed his underrated passing and ball handling abilities, consistently finding his open teammates for opportunities. He finished with 7 assists and 7 rebounds in addition to his 23 points.
He was just 8 of 17 from the field, and made just 5 of 12 three point attempts, but for his first game back since November, it was still a very solid outing. Against a Raptor team that was once again without Marc Gasol - who has been out since January 28 - and Fred Van Vleet, the Warriors hung tough, a lot of which had to do with Curry. Marquese Chriss had a double double with 17 and 12 rebounds, Damion Lee had 23 (3 off his season high), Wiggins scored 21 and had 9 rebounds, and Paschall had 16 off of the bench. Curry certain elevated his team's level of play.
With little to play for for the remainder of the season other than pride, having Curry back in the fold is not about making a late season push for the playoffs. Rather, it's more about him and Wiggins getting a feel for one another on the floor, and Curry helping groom and teach the younger Warriors - he to get a feel for them and they to get a feel for him. It's about building a rapport with the young guys and building for next season. Because for the first time in a long time, May and June NBA basketball won't feature the Warriors.
Which is all good, because at least these remaining games can be used for team building, for Curry to get back in rhythm, and for fan excitement.
Last night, despite losing, all of those things got off to a solid start.
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