Like it or not, the Golden State Warriors are scarier when Steph Curry is playing and shooting threes like he’s only attempting lay-ups. Even in his absence, the defending champions have strengthened their hold onto the number 2 spot in the Western Conference during the latter stretch of the 2017-2018 regular season.
Then, the Warriors faced the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. Mind you, the Spurs were facing tons of issues which included the Kawhi Leonard chaos which has been bothering the Spurs all season long. The Warriors won the first three games of the series against San Antonio before the Spurs won Game 4. However, the Warriors finally got rid of the Spurs after their 99-91 Game 5 victory to move onto the next round when they will face Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans who have swept their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Mind you, the Warriors worked through the first round without Steph Curry who was reduced to being a cheerleader.
Does Golden State Need Steph Curry against the Pelicans?
Given the fact that the Pelicans have Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and, Rajon Rondo who produced big numbers all throughout their sweep of the Blazers, the Warriors might be needing their Big 3 intact and healthy once the series gets going because even if Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson played well against the Spurs, let’s not forget one thing: Jrue Holiday shut down Damien Lillard all throughout the first round which if Jrue Holiday is to guard Klay Thompson, there’s a possibility that the Warriors MIGHT struggle offensively. And that’s where Curry is needed. A healthy Steph Curry will force the Pelicans to defend the Warriors one-on-one rather than focusing on either Durant or Thompson or even Curry himself.
Conclusion: GSW-NO series will be a tight one
While the Warriors swept the Pelicans in the first round back in 2015, we can expect this series to be a tight one because unlike in 2015, New Orleans has more firepower now and Anthony Davis has improved since then. For the Warriors, they just need to keep doing what they had been doing during the first round with or without Steph Curry in the line-up: adjusting.
