Tom Thibodeau was close with Jalen Brunson the person, having known him since he was a young child. He had only watched him from a distance as a player, first in high school, then college and later the NBA.
But almost immediately after Brunson agreed to join the Knicks, his new coach had a good idea of why Brunson was going to be so valuable as his new point guard.
“I’ll be honest with you, when we first signed him he started coming in immediately in the summer and I knew right then, just by what he was doing,” Thibodeau said. “Not by what he was saying. Not by anything other than the way he came in and the way he worked each and every day. I knew that was exactly what we needed.”
Through the season’s first 31 games — in good times and bad, when he’s at less than 100 percent, when games are on the line — it has become clear what the addition of Brunson has meant to the Knicks. After Brunson inked that four-year, $104 million deal to leave the Mavericks, there was a narrative that he was overpaid. So far, it has been the opposite.
Jalen Brunson drives to the basket during the Knicks’ 132-94 blowout win over the Warriors.Robert Sabo
His brilliant first season as a Knick continued Tuesday, in the form of a 22-point, five-assist, no-turnover masterpiece that led the Knicks to a 132-94 blowout of the defending champion Warriors and extended their NBA-leading win streak to eight. For the first time in nine meetings at the Garden, the Knicks beat the Warriors. This time, they had the star point guard on their side, as Golden State was without Stephen Curry due to a left shoulder injury, and they treated the Warriors like a sparring partner, instead of the other way around.
Brunson set the tone — with his scoring in the first half and passing after the break. He had plenty of help, four teammates in double figures. Immanuel Quickley snapped out of a shooting slump to hit five 3-pointers and score 22 points, Quentin Grimes had 19 points as he continued his impressive play and RJ Barrett contributed 18 points and five assists. Julius Randle was again a force inside, notching 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Jordan Poole led the Warriors (15-17) with 26 points.
Immanuel Quickley, who scored 22 points, shoots a jumper during the Knicks’ blowout win.Robert Sabo
After averaging over 27 points on the recent 3-0 road trip, Brunson picked up where he left off. He scored 16 points in the opening half on a variety of midrange jumpers, and went on a personal 9-0 run in the second quarter that gave the Knicks their largest lead of the first half at 57-43.
The ball moved well in the opening half, the Knicks racking up 15 assists on 24 made field goals and shooting a blistering 52.2 percent from the field. They hit 10 of their 19 3-point attempts, three apiece from Grimes and Quickley, and were dominant on the glass, owning a 22-14 edge. The lead was 13 at the break, and really could’ve been larger had the Warriors not shot so well from deep, making eight of 21 attempts.
Mitchell Robinson slams one home during the Knicks’ dominant victory.Robert Sabo
There was a scare late in the first half that halted the positive vibes momentarily. Grimes landed on the foot of Warriors guard Ty Jerome, and appeared to turn his right ankle. Jerome was assessed a Flagrant 1. Grimes hit two free throws, came out of the game, but started the second half.
Brunson used the pass instead of the shot in the third quarter, stacking up four assists in the early portion of the period as the Knicks threatened to run the Warriors off the Garden floor. After hitting a jumper, Brunson set up a Grimes 3-pointer and Barrett layup on consecutive possessions, keying a 16-6 run that pushed the Knicks lead to a then game-high 21. It nearly doubled from there, ending in a 38-point win.
Left: Jimmy Fallon ( Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue) Right: Art at Long Island’s Bored & Hungry restaurant, which uses NFT art in its branding (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Justin Bieber, Madonna, and other celebrities who spent a fairly embarrassing chunk of the last few years trying to convince fans that ugly pictures of monkeys were both a) cool and b) a lucrative investment opportunity, are now getting hit with a lawsuit. Specifically—and per THR—a number of famouses have found themselves defendants in a new suit this week that accuses at least some of them of, among other things, failing to disclose a financial stake in a company that facilitates purchases of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, even as they were publicly promoting the brand.
Said suit is being put forward by Adonis Real and Adam Titcher, two Ape buyers who lost money on their purchases, and who are hoping to develop a class-action suit against all involved. Their targets include BAYC parent company Yuga Labs, a number of celebrity promoters who endorsed the brand (Paris Hilton, Diplo, Post Malone, Snoop Dogg, Stephen Curry, Kevin Hart, DJ Khaled, and more are also named as “Promoter Defendants”), and well known music industry manager Guy Oseary, who’s being accused of setting up low-key payments through a company called Moonpay (which many of the named celebs are purportedly investors in) to pay them for their endorsements.
Much of the lawsuit’s focus rests on Oseary, the long-time manager for Madonna (as well as U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more), who’s referred to in the legal docs as “the Fifth Ape.” (Alongside the four founders of Yuga Labs, all also defendants.) Oseary is accused of leveraging his considerable network of contacts—the lawsuit specifically calls out his help in Fallon booking U2 in the first days of the host’s tenure on The Tonight Show—to rope in celebrity investors and promoters to build up the Bored Ape brand.
Jimmy Fallon buys his first NFT with MoonPay
Highlighting a November 2021 Tonight Show interview with web artist Matt “Beeple” Winkelmann (who’s allegedly in business with Oseary, and also a named defendant in the suit), the lawsuit accuses Fallon of being paid to promote the brand when he talked about getting his own ugly monkey picture through Moonpay, writing that, “Fallon did not disclose that he had a financial interest in MoonPay or that he was likewise financially interested, directly or indirectly, in the increased saleand popularity of Yuga securities.” The lawsuit goes on to allegedly detail a number of other transactions in which celebrities appear to have been paid, either in cryptocurrency or NFTs, in exchange for their endorsements.
A Yuga Labs spokesperson responded to the suit this week, calling the claims “Opportunistic and parasitic. We strongly believe that they are without merit, and look forward to proving as much.” This isn’t the first celebrity-focused NFT/crypto lawsuit to crop up in recent months, as the entire market continues to rest comfortably in the toilet. (Trading of the Bored Ape NFTs has reportedly dropped by 93 percent since its launch.) A number of paid promoters (including Larry David) were recently named as defendants in a suit for promoting crypto exchange FTX.
You can read the full text of the Bored Ape suit over at THR.
SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, speaking publicly on the Robert Sarver matter for the first time Sunday, said he had private conversations with commissioner Adam Silver regarding the punishment handed down by the league to the embattled Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner.
“[I] got [Silver’s] point of view of what decisions and, I guess, mechanisms he had to intervene and bring down a punishment that was worthy of the actions that we were all responding to and representing the league as a whole and protecting the integrity of the league and the standard that we set terms of from execs, ownership, all the way down to players,” Curry said while addressing the situation during the Warriors’ media day. “There should be a standard around what’s tolerable and what’s not.”
The NBA announced Sept. 13 that Sarver would be suspended for one year and fined $10 million after an independent investigation found that he used the N-word at least five times “when recounting the statements of others” and was also involved in “instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees,” including “sex-related comments” and inappropriate comments on employees’ appearances. The NBA commissioned the investigation in the wake of an ESPN story in November 2021 detailing allegations of racism and misogyny during Sarver’s 17 years as owner.
The NBA’s announcement was met with backlash, as LeBron James, Chris Paul, Draymond Green and others spoke out and said the punishment wasn’t severe enough. PayPal, the Suns’ jersey patch sponsor, threatened to not renew their partnership with the team if Sarver remained owner. And Suns minority owner Jahm Najafi, the team’s second-largest stakeholder, called for Sarver to resign.
Just over a week after his suspension was handed down, Sarver announced he is beginning the process to sell both the Suns and Mercury.
“I think the outcome was exactly what should have happened,” Curry said. “Honestly, I thought with the punishment that was handed down, it would have dragged out a little longer, but I’m glad we got to a point where hopefully the team is up for sale sooner than later and can kind of move on knowing that’s where it should be.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine published earlier this month, Curry expressed regret for not taking a public stance and boycotting the 2014 playoff game against the Clippers that followed the publication of an audio recording in which then-Clippers owner Donald Sterling made racist remarks — ultimately leading to his lifetime ban from the league.
Curry commended James, Paul and Green, his teammate on the Warriors, for using their public platforms to speak out on Sarver, and expressed appreciation to Silver for answering his call.
“The top players who have vested interests in protecting the league as well, all that stuff matters, and you want to have swift responses and reactions to stuff like that,” Curry said.
After Sarver’s suspension was handed down, but before he announced his intention to sell, Green recorded a 25-minute podcast episode in which he called on NBA owners to hold a vote to terminate Sarver’s position as owner of the Suns.
“You know, if this is governed by a vote, then why isn’t there a vote,” Green said Sunday at Warriors media day, explaining the thought process he had during his podcast. “It’s a 100 percent fireable offense. It’s 100 percent forceable — to force a sale type of event. So why isn’t there a vote if that’s what has to happen?”
“I was very happy to see that he was selling the team because I think that’s right,” Green continued. “When you look at some of the things that people has gotten in trouble over, I think that falls under the same boat. And we’re all a part of this league, and no one person is bigger than the league. If that goes for us as players, that goes across the board. We’re still all a part of the league, no matter what level you’re at.”
NBArank is back for its 12th season counting down the best players in the league.
Where are MVP candidates such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic? What about rookies and young stars ready to take the leap into the upper tier of NBA players?
To get the final NBArank prediction, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players: LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry vs. Ja Morant, Luka vs. Jayson Tatum … and the list goes on.
We asked, “Which player will be better in 2022-23?” Voters had to predict what they expected from each player during the season.
We’ve already revealed players Nos. 100-26, Nos. 25-11 and a surprising Nos. 10-6. Today, our rankings conclude with the league’s top five superstars.
Note: ESPN’s NBArank panel, composed of over 200 reporters, editors, producers and analysts, were asked to rank players based on their predicted contributions — quality and quantity — for the 2022-23 season only.
Golden State Warriors | PG
2021 NBArank: 5
If a Finals MVP was the piece of hardware missing from Curry’s argument as one of the all-time greats, that’s now taken care of, as Steph led the Warriors to their fourth title in six years en route to earning the elusive accolade. Sources told ESPN that, heading into training camp, Curry is looking in shape and primed to pick up where he left off.
Why his ranking was unchanged
Curry is in the same position he was in at the start of last season. After averaging 25.5 points per game on 43.7% shooting, Curry by no means had a subpar season — he was an early contender for MVP — but an ankle injury did keep him off the floor for the last month of the regular season. In his absence, his teammates stepped up and kept the Warriors afloat to secure the West’s No. 3 seed. Perhaps that — in addition to the rise of the MVP contenders below — is the reason he’s in the same spot in our rankings.
One huge question for 2022-23
Can Steph and the Warriors do it again? Despite the strength of their All-Star core and supporting cast, their title hopes rest mainly on Curry’s shoulders. As stated above, Curry is said to be ready to start this season as he ended the last. And despite rising conversations about Curry’s age (he’ll turn 35 before the end of the regular season) and how big his remaining window is, his performance suggests he could continue to play at this level for the foreseeable future.
Why he could end the season No. 1
Based on Curry’s 2021-22 campaign, there’s no obvious reason to believe he couldn’t end this season as the No. 1-ranked player in the league. Barring an extended absence, Curry should be able to put together a strong, complete season that could see him win another championship and possibly more individual hardware.
— Kendra Andrews
Philadelphia 76ers | C
2021 NBArank: 7
After two straight narrow second-place finishes behind Jokic in MVP voting, Embiid is again a favorite to claim the award as the anchor of what should be one of the better teams in the league.
Why he rose three spots
Embiid was dominant last season, averaging 30.6 points per game to lead the league in scoring for the first time in his career — the first time a center led the league in scoring since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-2000 and the first time a center had averaged at least 30 points per game across an entire season since Moses Malone in 1981-82.
Embiid also averaged the fewest minutes of any player to win the scoring title with 33.8 per game, beating the 34.2 mark Curry set in both 2016 and 2021. He has become a complete player offensively, able to score at all three levels with ease, and is one of the league’s most imposing rim protectors.
One huge question for 2022-23
At this point in his career, the only question left for Embiid isn’t necessarily up to him: Can he make it through a postseason healthy?
To this point in his career, he has had one dose of bad injury luck after another, including a facial fracture and thumb sprain during Philadelphia’s playoff run in the spring. When Embiid is healthy and available, there might not be a more dominant player in the NBA today. After playing a career-high 68 games last season, Embiid is eyeing both a healthy regular season and playoffs this time around. If he does, the sky’s the limit.
Why he could end the season No. 1
After years of having to make up for the deficiencies of a flawed roster around him, this season is the first time Embiid will be surrounded by a team built to optimize his strengths. That will only increase Embiid’s chances of claiming that elusive MVP award and leading Philadelphia to the deep playoff run missing from his résumé.
If those things happen, he could vault to the top of this list.
— Tim Bontemps
Dallas Mavericks | PG
2021 NBArank: 4
After spending his offseason starring for the Slovenian national team, Doncic should report to training camp in game shape for the first time in a few years. When conditioning isn’t a concern, Doncic is one of the NBA’s most dominant forces.
Why he rose one spot
At 23, Doncic has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s in the top tier of superstars, a perennial All-NBA selection and an MVP candidate. He cemented that status last season, when he was the lone All-Star on a Dallas team that went to the West finals.
Despite a calf strain that sidelined him for the first three games of the first round, Doncic led Dallas in points, rebounds and assists 10 times during the playoffs — the most ever in a single postseason, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
He’s arguably the best offensive weapon in the NBA — a threat to win scoring and assists titles who picks apart defenses with a blend of power, skill and savvy. He’s also a ruthless competitor, as evidenced by his unforgettable Game 7 demolition of the top-seeded Suns, when he single-handedly matched Phoenix’s scoring total in the first half.
One huge question for 2022-23
How far can Doncic lead a team that doesn’t feature another All-Star? Dallas’ roster was dealt a significant blow when Jalen Brunson, the Mavs’ second-best player last season, bolted for New York in free agency. Mavs management is confident that Brunson’s scoring void can be filled by Tim Hardaway Jr.’s return from injury and Christian Wood’s arrival via trade.
But in a league loaded with star duos, Doncic carries as big of a burden as anyone. Doncic has led the league in usage rate the past two seasons, a trend that’s likely to continue into 2022-23.
Why he could end the season No. 1
Doncic has finished fourth, sixth and fifth in MVP voting the past three seasons, respectively. This could be the season that Doncic climbs to the top of the ballots, especially if he gets off to a strong start and Dallas claims a top-four spot in the competitive West.
The Mavs went 32-12 — a 60-win pace — with Doncic in uniform after he returned from a three-week absence to heal his sprained ankle and work on his conditioning.
— Tim MacMahon
Denver Nuggets | C
2021 NBArank: 6
Despite Jokic averaging 31.0 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists, the Nuggets were no match for Golden State in the first round. But with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. expected back this season, Denver hopes to be back in contention, led by its two-time reigning MVP.
Why he rose four spots
How did Jokic follow up an MVP season? He got better. Jokic became just the 13th player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVP awards and did so with a historic campaign. He’s the first player to average 25 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists in a season and the first to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and field goal percentage.
Jokic beat out Embiid for MVP by recording the highest PER (32.8) in a season in NBA history. Jokic collected 19 triple-doubles — most by a center since Wilt Chamberlain — and led Denver to one more win than the previous season despite missing Murray and Porter Jr.
One huge question for 2022-23
The Nuggets are whole again, but can Jokic and a new-look roster recapture the form that helped Denver reach the West finals in the 2020 bubble? Murray missed all of last season due to a torn ACL, and Porter Jr. was out since early November due to back surgery.
The Nuggets welcome both back but also went through some changes in the offseason, namely adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown and trading Monte Morris to the Washington Wizards to clear playing time for emerging second-year point guard Bones Hyland.
Why he could end the season No. 1
If he was able to put together a historic season without Murray and Porter Jr., what can he do with them back on the court? Jokic was double-teamed 191 times on post-ups last season, the most in the league. With a full complement of contributors around him, Jokic won’t face the same type of defensive attention.
While his scoring might dip, assists and other categories could increase this season. And if he can three-peat as MVP, Jokic would pull off what only Larry Bird, Chamberlain and Bill Russell have accomplished — that sounds like a recipe to become the No. 1 player in the league.
— Ohm Youngmisuk
Milwaukee Bucks | PF
2021 NBArank: 2
As Antetokounmpo enters his age-28 season, his list of accolades already makes him one of the most decorated winners in league history. So the question remains how he will add to that list. Can he win a third NBA MVP? The Bucks will be among the favorites to win another NBA championship, but can Antetokounmpo secure another Finals MVP? The expectations are high each season, but Antetokounmpo usually finds a way to exceed them.
Why he rose one spot
From the pure consistency and the reliable dominance each night from Antetokounmpo, his claim on the status as best player in the world has only been strengthened in the past year. Arguably no player in the league can match his impact on both ends of the floor.
To follow up winning his first Finals MVP, Antetokounmpo challenged for the scoring title, averaging 29.9 points (third in the NBA), while grabbing 11.6 rebounds, dishing out 5.8 assists with 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Even though Milwaukee was without its second best player, Khris Middleton, during their second-round playoff series against Boston, the Bucks extended the series to seven games on the will of Antetokounmpo, who averaged 31.7 points, 14.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the postseason.
One huge question for 2022-23
What new skill will Antetokounmpo bring to the table? After each offseason, Antetokounmpo emerges with a new skill in his arsenal. Over the years, he has refined his vision as a passer, has improved an outside jumper that keeps defenses guessing and has become more unstoppable attacking the paint and in the post. Is it possible for Antetokounmpo to get even better?
BOSTON — Stephen Curry isn’t one to show tons of emotion throughout the course of a game. But in the Golden State Warriors’ 107-97 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Curry wore his heart on his sleeve all night.
Late in the first quarter, after knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers, Curry ran down to the opposite end of the court and began yelling at the Boston fans — something he does maybe once or twice down the stretch after a big shot, but rarely from the opening moments.
“Felt like we just had to let everybody know that we were here tonight,” Curry said. “Whether that’s their crowd, their team, our team, whoever wants to see that energy and that fire, we feed off of that.
Curry finished with 43 points on 14-of-26 shooting, including seven 3-pointers, and added 10 rebounds and four assists. He became just the fifth guard in NBA history to have at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in a Finals game.
“Incredible,” Draymond Green said. “Put us on his back. Willed us to win. Much-needed win. A game we had to have. Came out and showed why he’s one of the best players to ever play this game, you know, and why, you know, this organization has been able to ride him to so much success. It’s absolutely incredible.”
Green said he knew Curry wouldn’t let the Warriors lose. Kerr called his game “stunning.” Klay Thompson ranked it as Curry’s No. 1 Finals performance.
Curry doesn’t rank his performances, but he said he understood the importance of what he did Friday night, especially given what was at stake. The outcome of Friday’s game would have either put the Warriors down 3-1 or tied the series at two games each.
Curry ensured it was the latter.
“It means everything knowing the sense of urgency we had to have tonight to win on the road and keep some life in the series, get home-court advantage back and try to create some momentum our way,” Curry said.
Curry scored 33 points through the first three quarters, a trend that had been consistent through the first three games of the series. But his problem area had been the fourth quarter, where he was averaging just three points on 30% field goal shooting. He had scored just six points in Games 1, 2 and 3 combined.
On Friday, he scored 10 in the final frame. He had 24 points in the second half overall, tying the most in his career in the second half of a Finals game.
The fourth quarter is when the Warriors, as a team, put the clamps on the Celtics. Golden State outscored Boston 15-0 in crunch time and became the first team in the past 50 seasons to win a Finals game by at least 10 points in regulation after trailing at some point in the last five minutes of the game.
“We were helping each other out, playing together, playing aggressively on the defensive side, and most importantly just closing out,” Wiggins said. “You know, not grabbing rebounds. No offensive rebounds. Didn’t get second-chance points. So that was big.”
With just over a minute left in the game and the Warriors up three, Green grabbed the offensive rebound off a missed Thompson 3-pointer. He passed it back out to Curry but quickly got the ball back after the Celtics threw a double-team at Curry. Green then dished the ball to Looney, who finished with a dunk over Al Horford.
Kerr called it the biggest bucket of the night. But it was Curry who carried them to the point when that shot could become the dagger.
“The things he does we kind of take for granted from time to time,” Thompson said. “But to go out there and put us on his back, I mean, we got to help him out on Monday.”
Curry got some help on Friday from Thompson, who scored 18 points and knocked down four 3-pointers; Andrew Wiggins, who had 17 points and 16 rebounds; and Jordan Poole, who added 14 points. Kevon Looney, who came off of the bench for the first time this series, had 11 rebounds and finished with a plus-21 net rating.
But Curry outscored the rest of the Warriors’ starters 43-39. At 34, he is the oldest player to do that in a Finals game since Michael Jordan, 35, in Game 6 against the Jazz in 1998.
Green struggled again, not putting any substantial fingerprints on the game until his rebound late in the fourth. Kerr even opted to pull Green from the game on offensive possessions through the final five minutes of the game.
As Thompson said, the Warriors know they have to help Curry out. But they aren’t saying they need to do it by sharing the brunt of the scoring responsibilities.
“When a guy is on a roll like that, you just get out of his way,” Thompson said.
Green added: “You just try to do what you can to help free him up to get him to his spots or open up some space for him to create and get to his spots. For us, we’ve just got to continue to fill in where we may. You’ve got a shot, take it. … I think if everybody is forceful on the offensive end, and that means with cuts, that means crisp with your passes, then you allow him to be in the position to do what he does.”
Green said he knew Curry was going to play with an extra level of fire in Game 4, saying he could tell just by watching Curry’s demeanor in the days following their lackluster loss two days prior.
Curry said he entered Game 4 knowing he wanted to take over. He knew how quickly the momentum in the Finals could shift, and if he could will his team to a victory in Boston, all of it would be on their side.
“He was going to come out with that type of fire,” Green said. “And he did, and we were all able to follow it.”
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has graduated from Davidson College, the school announced Sunday morning.
Curry, who helped lead the Warriors to a 110-96 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 of their second-round series on Friday to advance to the Western Conference finals, will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in sociology.
13 years after entering the NBA, Stephen Curry is a college grad.
Stephen completed his final semester of coursework this spring and will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Sociology from Davidson College.
Congrats to the Class of 2022! pic.twitter.com/R3giuMtPDx
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 15, 2022
Curry had been one semester short of graduating and reenrolled at the school for the spring semester, Davidson said. He will not attend the commencement, Davidson said, but Curry’s name will be listed as one of the graduates.
Curry attended the North Carolina school from 2006 to 2009 and is arguably the best player in Davidson history, as the school’s all-time leader in points, 3-pointers, free throws, field goals and steals.
Curry’s graduation will likely result in his number being retired at Davidson. The college retires only the numbers of players who graduate.
The Golden State Warriors entered Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals up 3-1, with a chance to end the Memphis Grizzlies’ playoff run.
Ahead of the potential series closer, Stephen Curry gave Kendra Andrews some insight on Golden State’s mentality, saying:
“Whoop that trick! That is our game plan.”
“Whoop That Trick” is a song by Memphis-born rapper Al Kapone. It was also performed by Terrence Howard in the movie “Hustle & Flow.” It has since become the Grizzlies’ unofficial anthem that is played in FedExForum during late-game moments.
Unfortunately for Curry & Co., the game didn’t go as planned. The Grizzlies put up a 134-95 thrashing to avoid elimination.
Memphis hit the ground running, scoring 77 points in the first half, the second-most in a playoff game all-time by any team facing elimination, while the Warriors put up 50.
The home team didn’t slow down in the second half, either. They led by as many as 55 points — the second-largest lead at any point of a playoff game over the last 25 years.
The 39-point win by the Grizzlies is the largest by any team this postseason.
Late in the fourth quarter, the home crowd rejoiced as the song blared throughout the arena. Despite the deficit, Curry and Draymond Green appeared to enjoy the chant.
WHOOP THAT TRICK… Steph and Draymond enjoying it. pic.twitter.com/rZuatdxO8N
SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry is expected to return to the starting lineup Wednesday for the first time this postseason in Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets, sources told ESPN.
The move comes a day after the team announced Curry would no longer play under a minute restriction and the Warriors try and close out their first-round series against the Nuggets.
Kevon Looney will move to the bench, sources told ESPN, and Draymond Green would slide to center, meaning the Warriors’ new lethal small-ball lineup comprised of Curry, Green, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins would start.
The small-ball lineup has been a momentum-shifter against the Nuggets. In Game 1 against Denver, it outscored the Nuggets by 14 points. In Game 2, it went on a 22-8 run. Through the first four games of the series, all five players in this lineup are shooting 60% from the field while playing together. Curry has led the group in scoring, putting up 41 points in the 32 minutes the group has played.
Curry has been averaging 27.5 points on 45.25 field goal shooting, including 40% from three, in 28 minutes per game off the bench.
Curry voluntarily came off the bench through the first four games against Denver as he worked his way back from a left foot strain that held him out a month. As soon as Curry was ready to come back into the starting lineup, the Warriors would make that adjustment, sources told ESPN.
Multiple players also told ESPN that the way Curry initially came off the bench set the tone for how the rest of the team would respond to lineup adjustments throughout the series and playoffs at large.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors have a long-standing history of small-ball lineups. During the first championship run of their dynastic era, their small lineup was so lethal it was dubbed the “death lineup.”
It has gone through a few different renditions since then, but as the Warriors embark on their first playoff run in three years, it appears they have the newest version.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins played just five minutes together in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, but in those minutes, they outscored the Nuggets by 14 points. And it was those five minutes that shifted the momentum to the Warriors going into halftime of their eventual 123-107 win on Saturday night.
“It’s a scary sight when we really get going,” Thompson said. “This is really only our first time really playing together.”
Poole has been peppering his veteran teammates with questions about the playoffs for the past three years. He wanted to be ready whenever his chance to perform on the NBA’s biggest stage came. But according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr, it’s not just his questions that prepared the third-year guard. Their two play-in games last year gave Poole a taste of the pressure he’d face during their run this season.
“He’s not afraid of the moment,” Kerr said of Poole. “He’s looking forward to it.”
Curry singled out a play that occurred with about three minutes left in the first half, when Poole came in transition and cut back and forth through the key for a layup.
“He doesn’t lack confidence,” Curry said. “That play embodied it. Because you just have the creativity and confidence in yourself to make that play. You don’t second-guess yourself. You kind of live with the results and we’ve done it for years, and he’s stepping into that … It’s fun to see.”
Poole finished the night with a game-high 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3. Only one player in Warriors history scored more points in his playoff debut: Wilt Chamberlain (35 points).
On Friday, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said not to check Poole’s statistics against Denver during the regular season because “they were just off the charts.” In the three games he played against the Nuggets, Poole averaged 22.7 points, 58% shooting from the field and 61% shooting from the 3-point line.
Curry said that Poole’s play as of late — he has hit a league-best 78 3-pointers since March — is a reason he is comfortable easing his way back into his own play more slowly.
Saturday’s outing was the first time Curry had played a game since March 16, and he came in off the bench.
It was Curry’s decision not to start. He said that watching Thompson come back from his injuries — particularly the way the Warriors would allow Thompson to get 45 minutes of rest in real time before he returned to the floor — gave Curry insight into how to manage his minutes restriction. But it also gave the Warriors the flexibility they wanted within the limits of Curry’s minute restriction.
Curry played 22 minutes total, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
“I thought he looked great,” Thompson said. “His shot was short in the first half, but that’s to be expected when you come off a long layoff. But he’s still Steph Curry. … Just his gravity and the threat of him being out there is the best. It makes us a championship team.”
As Thompson said, Curry’s biggest impact on the game was simply his presence on the court. It forced the Nuggets to decide if they wanted to leave him in single coverage — which could have allowed him to catch fire — or throw multiple defenders his way, leaving another capable shooter wide open.
“It’s really hard to guard us,” Thompson said. “Technically, I guess, we are undersized, but you have to bring a defensive force and effort and energy.”
As Curry added, “Seeing [Poole] be able to make plays in the pick-and-roll with me and Klay spaced and Draymond setting and Wiggs splashing, it checks a lot of boxes on the list of like what would you want for a potent offense.”
The spacing Curry created was especially apparent playing in the Warriors’ three-guard lineup with Poole and Thompson. Thompson finished with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including five 3-pointers.
Of course, the “death lineup 3.0” was brought together by Green, as it has been since the 2014-15 season.
Green did not play in any of the four regular-season matchups against Denver, and Malone cited that as a reason the Nuggets went 3-1 in the series.
The Nuggets shot just 5-of-19 from the floor on Saturday when Green was the primary defender. Nikola Jokic went 3-of-12. On offense, the Warriors finished 9-of-14 on field goals off Green’s passes, including 5-of-6 on uncontested shots.
“You need tough and smart, and that’s Draymond,” Kerr said.
Poole agreed.
“He stepped it up a notch,” Poole said of Green. “Him being our leader, we feed off his energy and being able to see head honcho go out there, be aggressive, knock down huge stops against the MVP, we feed off that. Being able to have the force that he is back there, and the way he controls our offense helps a lot.”
The Warriors only got a five-minute glimpse of their potential closing lineup. But in those five minutes, Golden State could finally see the lineup it has been talking about since Curry went down in March with injuries to his left foot. It’s been in their playbook for longer — for nearly a decade.
Golden State has seen players rotate out, such as Harrison Barnes and Kevin Durant, but at the end of the day, it will always be a key for the Warriors in the playoffs.
As for a new nickname for it?
“No,” Curry said. “See, it’s hard to keep doing it over and over again. Hard stuff we all must do.”
NEW ORLEANS — As the Golden State Warriors wrap up their regular season, the status of Stephen Curry for the start of the NBA playoffs is still up in the air as he works his way back from a left foot sprain.
“We’ll see how everything goes with Steph next week. There is a chance he could be ready for Game 1, there is a chance he might not,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said ahead of the team’s regular-season finale against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. “It’s literally going to be a day-to-day thing as it unfolds this week. We’ll know a lot more after the next few days when he’s ramping up his work.”
The Warriors’ first game in the opening round of the playoffs will either be on April 16 or April 17.
As of Sunday evening, Kerr had not spoken with the team’s head trainer, Rick Celebrini, and didn’t have an update on what kind of work Curry has been able to do over the past several days while the Warriors have been on the road.
Before their trip, Curry had advanced to individual shooting work but had not participated in any team activity.
Over the next week, the plan is for Curry to increase his practice and workload as the team prepares for the playoffs. Golden State will host several practices throughout the week while there are no games, and plans on having at least one day dedicated to a full scrimmage — or “dress rehearsal,” as Kerr called it.
“It’s up in the air, as far as Steph’s participation,” Kerr said. “We’ll see how it goes the next couple of days. … As the week goes on, we’ll see where Steph is, but I imagine this will go right down to the wire, as far as Game 1 is concerned — whether we know his availability or not.”
Following Curry’s last reevaluation on April 1, sources told ESPN that both Curry and the Warriors felt confident that his recovery timeline would allow him to be back for the start of the Western Conference playoffs.
Curry is scheduled to have his next official reevaluation early this week. The Warriors will not practice Monday, so his next official update is more likely to come Tuesday.
