NBA: The ‘Splash Brothers’ vs. The ‘House of Guards’
Fresh off of signing a max extension worth nearly $90 million dollars last year, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall led the franchise back into the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
Paired in the backcourt alongside 21-year-old sharpshooter Bradley Beal, the “House of Guards” tandem garnered recognition as the best young backcourt in the league.
Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Bill Simmons became some of the top media pundits on record saying Wall and Beal will be the best backcourt in the NBA in three years.
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Fast forward to this year, it is clear Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors seem to disagree.
Nicknamed the “Splash Brothers,” and with good reason, Curry and Thompson were called the best shooting backcourt of all-time by former coach Mark Jackson.
One week into the season through Tuesday’s games, Thompson is the league’s top scorer averaging 29.7 points per game, while Curry is fifth putting up 25.3 points.
Last Friday, Thompson agreed to a four-year extension worth nearly $70 million, then followed that up by torching the Los Angeles Lakers for a career-high 41 points in a shootout against Kobe Bryant.
It was the kind of performance that showed how much Thompson, in his fourth year, has improved from being just a 3-point shooter to becoming an offensive weapon capable of putting the ball on the floor, getting to the rim and posting up smaller defenders.
Curry on the other hand has made huge strides in his overall defensive game, something he had failed to do until this season. Coach Steve Kerr and the rest of the Warriors coaching staff have praised Curry for his newfound commitment to that end of the court, recognizing that defense ultimately wins championships.
He’s the league leader with 3.7 steals per game.
"“I have to be better to be a championship-caliber point guard and for us to get to where we’re trying to go,” Curry told the press during shootaround on Wednesday. “The importance of defense is something I’ve focused on, but every year you go through it, you understand the slightest difference that it can make in getting to the first round or getting to the conference finals. Those are lessons you’re learning every single day.”"
Meanwhile, Wall and the Wizards are 3-1 at the top of the Southeast Division. He ranks third in assists with 10 per game and also leads the team in points (19.0) and steals (2.8).
Beal has not played since Oct. 10, when he suffered a non-displaced fracture of his non-shooting wrist, and is expected to miss up to six weeks.
When he returns from injury, it will make for exciting conversation as to whether Golden State or Washington has the better back court. Last year in the two head to head matchups, Curry averaged 18.5 points and seven assists compared to Wall’s 14.5 points and 7.5 assists.
Thompson’s 19.5 points were greater than Beal’s 14.5 points.
The two teams will meet this year for the first time on Feb. 24 and again on March 23.
The Splash Brothers or the House of Guards – who are you going with?