Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 5 vs. Pelicans

2. Taking stock of Curry’s status

It is impossible to get a read on whether this post-MCL sprain version of Curry is closer to 100 percent than the last one.

Through four games, he’s been inconsistent. Two sparkling home performances (28.0 points per game on 77.1 percent true shooting) were spaced out by two less-than-stellar road showings (21.0 points per game on 53.7 percent true shooting). His jumper looks terrific, but his ability to create space for it is unclear. He is not exploding off the dribble, but is buzzing all over the court, creating mass chaos and open shots abound.

Game 5 was encouraging. Curry had eight assists (after having two in each game since returning), and had by far his best showing finishing inside the arc. He hit his first mid-range jumper since returning, and then he hit three more (4-of-6 from 15-19 feet, per NBA.com).

Curry rarely shot from that distance during the regular season, but his uncanny ability to do so (he went 41-of-67) made him an impossible cover. Much like Paul dominated the Utah Jazz with the mid-ranger in Round 2, Curry’s intermediate game could be a trump card against Houston.

It also might not matter. A compromised Curry beat Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in the 2016 Western Conference Finals. Now, he has Durant on his side. The Warriors are better than the Rockets, even with a limited version of Curry.

How limited he is, however, is another question. We still do not have a great answer.