Golden State Warriors: 5 Areas To Improve In Second Round

5. Curry Hitting Threes

You must think I’m crazy for listing this the day after Curry dropped 39 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range. But for most of the series, Curry actually struggled from downtown — where he shot an absurd 44.3 percent during the regular season.

Before last night’s ultra-efficient night, Curry was shooting only 35.3 percent from beyond the arc. In Game 1, he went 4-for-13. In Game 2, he was 3-for-9. Even when he shot 38.9 percent from downtown in Game 3, he still missed 11 threes in the game. He just so happened to make the biggest one of the game:

The point here is not to berate Curry for missing threes; the point is to emphasize that even after an MVP-caliber series, he can still play better. For a guy who hit the big shots when they mattered and averaged 33.8 points, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in the first round, that’s a terrifying statement.

Last night showed us what happens to teams in the wake of a Steph Curry supernova. As hard as the Pelicans fought, they couldn’t climb back in the game under the weight of Curry’s onslaught of backbreaking threes. If last night was the tip of the iceberg on Curry’s three-point shooting in the playoffs, the rest of the league should be worried.

Next: No. 4