Getty Steph Curry & LeBron James.
After years of dominance, the Golden State Warriors have fallen back to earth over the last couple of seasons. They were one of the NBA’s worst teams last season due to injury issues and they are currently the eighth seed in the Western Conference. On Sunday, they got blown out by the Los Angeles Lakers, which has taken the mantle of best in the West away from the Warriors.
Even though they are no longer a dominant team, Stephen Curry believes that teams around the NBA got it out for Golden State. Since the comments came directly after getting beat by LeBron James and the Lakers, they come off as a bit of a dig.
“Even when we’re playing well, we won three in a row, teams still want to beat us and beat us bad,” Curry said after the loss. “They still have a lot of memories from the last five, six years.”
It sounds like Curry believes that LeBron isn’t over the Warriors’ recent dynasty. While that might have some truth to it, the Lakers star is probably feeling pretty good right now. He’s coming off a championship season of his own, and his team is the likely favorites to win again this year.
Steph Curry said Draymond Green reminded the team at halftime that the Warriors still have a target on their back:
“Even when we’re playing well, we won three in a row, teams still want to beat us and beat us bad. They still have a lot of memories from the last five, six years.”
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LeBron & Warriors Have Long History
Obviously, Curry’s comments don’t directly mention LeBron but he’s had 15 other losses this season to mention something. The guard believes teams still having memories of the Warriors’ dynasty. Well, nobody would have stronger memories than LeBron, who played the team in the NBA Finals for four straight years between 2015 to 2018.
Though it might be petty, LeBron has every right to be irritated by the Warriors dynasty. He went to the Finals eight years in a row and only won two times. Three of the losses came against Golden State. If it hadn’t been for that superteam, LeBron may already have his six championships. He’s not shy about the fact that he cares deeply about his legacy so he probably does still get a little fired up to play the Warriors.
Lakers Back on Track
For a minute there, it looked like the Lakers were in serious trouble. They were on a four-game losing streak and looked to be out of gas. Luckily, they’ve been able to turn things around before the All-Star break and have back-to-back wins over solid Trail Blazers and Warriors teams. LeBron had a chance to talk about his team bouncing back.
“It’s my job to figure it out on both sides of the floor,” LeBron said after Sunday’s win. “Defensively, I’ve just been a little more active. I’ve just been flying around … everybody’s been flying around.”
While LeBron is the team’s most important player, it’s clear that Dennis Schroder brings a lot to the Lakers. He doesn’t put up monster stats but he’s a very good defender and plays with a ton of energy. The team didn’t have Schroder during their losing streak so it’s clear that they need him around.
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