Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are becoming the lovable underdogs again.
At the start of the season, not many were expecting Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors to play much of a factor as a contender in the Western Conference, mostly due to the fact that Klay Thompson was slated to miss the season with a knee injury.
That sentiment only grew when the Warriors were blown out on national television on opening night and as the team went through natural ups and downs through the first part of the season. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, the Warriors were four games under .500 and sitting in the 10th spot of the West.
Even though the Warriors have only moved up one spot in the West standings over the last couple of weeks, Golden State is being, almost single-handedly, carried back to NBA relevance thanks to. Curry.
Stephen Curry’s explosion during the month of April
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During the month of April, Curry has taken his game to an absurd level that is bringing the Warriors back into the spotlight and adding relevance to a season that had been considered quite forgettable.
Over the team’s last 10 games, Curry is averaging 41 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game on 55 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from 3-point range. Specifically, the Warriors are 6-2 in their last eight games.
With 14 games remaining on their schedule, the Warriors are squarely in the race for one of the final playoff spots in the West and will likely be destined for a play-in tournament one way or another. And with Curry playing at the level that he’s played at in the last month, how could you count this team out in a small sample size?
That’s the narrative that is beginning to form around the underdog, lovable Warriors again. How could you bet against Curry, who is playing at a level that we haven’t seen in years? How could you bet against these lovable underdogs?
When the Warriors first busted onto the scene in 2015, it was easy to root for this team. They were the team that came out of nowhere that was playing a fun brand of basketball facing off the big, bad LeBron James in the NBA Finals.
That is a team that was easy to get behind. And while the 2021 version of the Warriors may not be as serious of a contender as those Warriors were, this team is becoming equally relevant and just as lovable.
There might not be a team that the vast majority of NBA fans are rooting for to sneak into the playoffs in the West than the Warriors. Not because Golden State is expected to run through the West or even play a factor in the NBA Finals, but because it’s becoming easy to root for Curry again, and who doesn’t want to see this unprecedented player in a seven-game series against an “unproven” team that has had the best record in the NBA this season?
The Warriors are the lovable underdogs again and it’s time we start paying attention to what Curry is doing. This team is getting hot at the right time and with Curry on the roster, I’m not sure there’s any way you can count this team out in a seven-game series.