Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 3 vs. Rockets
1. Yes, the playoffs matter
For the most part, the post hot-take world of NBA journalism is beautiful. We understand competition, context and complexity in a way we never did before. Basketball is a team game, short series success can be random and winning championships is very hard. Failure from great players does not make them less great.
To an extent.
Failure is one thing, repeated failure is another. Particularly, a repeated failure to compete. While much of Curry and Harden’s team success and failure alike can be attributed to their teammates and coaches, Game 3 was yet another example in a long line of important moments in which Curry has ascended and Harden has shrunk.
Remember before Durant came to Oakland? When Curry was not Curry, the Warriors were nothing special. They went down 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder behind a struggling Curry, and blew a 3-1 lead the next round due in large part to his similarly subpar play.
Thing is, Curry is rarely not Curry in big moments. There was the 2015 corner 3 against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Game 6 walloping of the Memphis Grizzlies the following round, the throttling of Houston in the conference finals and the subtle dominance of that year’s Finals. The next year, before the Finals collapse, there was “I’m Back,” “7” and “We Ain’t Going Home.” In 2016-17 there was the revenge drive on LeBron James, the revenge step-back over Kyrie Irving and the “big dog” closeout game.
Even before the Warriors won titles, Curry was still spectacular when it mattered most. There was the upset of the 57-win Denver Nuggets and his valiant series against the San Antonio Spurs in 2013, followed the next year by his mammoth Game 7 and series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Even on the worse team, Curry was always the best player, and his team nearly won those series as a result.
Harden’s most memorable playoff moments? The 13 turnovers in Game 5 against the Warriors in 2015 come to mind, as does his Game 6 clunker against the Spurs last year. He had no desire to compete against Curry’s Warriors in 2016, nor did he against the Clippers in 2015 until his teammates saved Houston’s season.
The anti hot-take brigade will rush to Harden’s defense by citing his lack of help and his raw career playoff numbers, and they’ll do the same looking at this series.
How anyone could have actually watched Game 3 and decided that it says nothing about the difference between Harden and Curry as basketball players? That’s beyond me.
A talent disparity has nothing to do with Curry’s exponentially superior defensive effort. Sample size has nothing to do with his constant motion off the ball. The difficulty of winning titles is unrelated to his unrelenting confidence (sometimes to a fault, yes).
When the takes heat up around Curry, he usually quiets them right back down. And when he fails to, he comes back twice as hard the next time. It’s why “This is my f***** house” happened, and is just one on a long list of legendary Curry exclamations.
If the Rockets lose this series, that is not on Harden. If he continues to get outplayed, outworked and out-competed, that has to matter.
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If it does not, what are we even analyzing?