Golden State Warriors: 3 reasons to believe in their hot start

Golden State Warriors reason #1: Stephen Curry is an MVP-frontrunner

Yes, we said that the Warriors are succeeding this year due to others’ contributions along with Curry’s usual greatness. However, it would be rude of us to not mention Steph first, as he’s playing at an MVP level through the first 10 games of the season.

On the year, Curry is averaging 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists on 43.1/38.8/98 shooting splits. The remarkable nature of this stat line is, although he’s putting up ridiculous numbers and performances, such as a 50 point barrage in his most recent game against Atlanta, he has room to improve.

For his career, he’s a 47.6% shooter from the field and 43.2% from deep – that’s considerably higher than his current marks. He’s currently averaging 120.2 points per 100 shot attempts, placing him in the 91st percentile. In his past three decently healthy years, he has led the league in that statistic, hovering around 133 points per that threshold.

He is also struggling at the rim a bit more than usual, shooting only 56% from layup range compared to his normal 64/65%. Yet despite all these decently sized declines in production, the two-time MVP is still one of the most impactful players in the league.

His on/off statistics have always been exquisite, and continue to be this year, as the team is 13.3 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the court. The sheer sight of Steph causes opposing defenses to form an entirely different game plan, giving opportunities for others to create and make shots for themselves.