Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Every game for the Golden State Warriors matters as the NBA playoffs are right around the corner. With three regular season matchups remaining, the Dubs are right in the middle of a battle for the final automatic Western Conference playoff berth.
Star guard Stephen Curry certainly sounded like he understands what’s at stake for his squad. After Golden State’s 112-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets Sunday, he called for better focus from his teammates, saying that a game like that “can’t happen.”
“So it’s just a matter of executing, being mindful of what it takes to win that particular game that night, maintain our momentum that we’ve worked hard to create in the first half, but weren’t able to do it,” he said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Still, the grit and the fight allows us to be one shot away from stealing a game we had no business being in. But we got to come to a realization like if we’re going to win or do anything in a playoff kind of scenario, a game like tonight can’t happen.”
The 35-year-old could’ve had a better outing himself. Curry had a rough shooting night, making just 8-of-28 attempts from the floor and 2-of-14 from deep. He was still able to finish the matchup with 21 points, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done for the Warriors.
Stephen Curry Clears Air on Rumors of Warriors Future
Sunday’s loss in Denver marked Golden State’s 30th road loss of the season. The Warriors’ road struggles have been a recurring storyline throughout their season, causing many to question the team’s focus and ability to still win at a high level.
On top of that, there have been rumors floating around the team regarding the futures of both star forward Draymond Green and general manager Bob Myers. Each will have the chance to potentially leave the franchise this summer, with Green’s contract including a player-option, and Myer’s deal being finished altogether.
Curry recently addressed the possibility of the Dubs losing two key pieces of their championship core.
“I think we can all acknowledge and keep it real that had we not won a championship last year, then those questions would have been a lot more … everyday, I guess?” Curry told 95.7 The Game’s Steiny & Guru. “But when you prove that you can win, then you kind of hold off the dogs in terms of how hard it is to do what we’ve done and keep this together for as long as we have. I still feel like we can [keep everyone together]. Obviously, we understand how important Bob is, we understand how important Coach is, our core, Draymond, Klay [Thompson], myself, Andre [Iguodala], even though he’s had a rough year with injuries and what not, he’s been extremely valuable behind the scenes in helping maintain our culture.”
Andrew Wiggins ‘Might Show Up’ for Warriors’ Final Games
Starting forward Andrew Wiggins was also a key piece of Golden State’s 2022 championship run. The team has missed him throughout the second half of the season, as he’s been away to deal with a personal matter.
There hasn’t been much reported on Wiggins’ absence, but it sounds like he may not be far from returning to the team.
According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, the Warriors have a belief that they may get the Canadian forward back in the coming days.
“There’s a reason Wiggins hasn’t been ruled out for the season,” Slater wrote. “There remains a belief he might show up in the coming days. It isn’t blind ambition. There’s been some level of signaling. But the clock is ticking and nobody behind the scenes is guaranteeing anything. Wiggins has told them he has been working out privately recently, but an intake process and some amount of ramp-up will be needed if he does return.”