National Basketball Association

Stephen Curry's early struggles have the Warriors set to dominate the NBA

Published Jan. 6, 2017 10:58 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

The Golden State Warriors are too smart — and too good — to let Stephen Curry struggle for very long.

Of course, the Warriors don't need much improvement to be considered 2017 NBA title favorites. As friend of the program Rob Mahoney pointed out this week, Golden State is on pace to dominate the competition even with Curry playing at less than 100 percent.

Yet those same early-season struggles from Curry have the Warriors on track to be their best selves — and without Curry's deflated performance to start this season it's hard to imagine the Warriors would be clawing and fighting to improve upon their already lofty standards.

Perfect can be the enemy of good, as the ol' saying (more or less) goes. When you're truly elite, however, "good enough" is too often the enemy of greatness. Kevin Durant learned that all-too-harsh lesson during his time in Oklahoma City. KD and Russell Westbrook did everything they could to win a title, only to fall short year after year because of an unimaginative offense that left too much to be desired.

Had Curry and Durant struck a similar balancing act in the opening month of the season, perhaps they'd be steamrolling through the NBA as the Thunder duo once did. But would that level approach what the Warriors can be at their very best? And would it be enough to top LeBron's Cavaliers?

Instead, Golden State got the hardest part of adding a star free agent out of the way as soon as possible. Because of Curry's struggles, Durant had to pick up the slack for the Warriors, which got KD comfortable within a new system, playing with new teammates. By the new year, Durant was fully integrated with his new squad, to the point that we're starting to forget he ever played for another team.

The Warriors let Durant seep into the cracks in their foundation that he felt best-suited to fill, watching to see what flaws remained after he settled in. So while Durant made himself comfortable as the new kid in town, Curry took a bird's-eye view of things. His relative ineffectiveness was the by-product of a measured hesitation, as the two-time MVP wanted to make sure everyone else was at their best before he started to take care of himself. That's what a point guard — and a leader — does, after all.

Two months into the season, when the time was right, Curry made his voice heard. The Warriors were very good; if they were going to be great, they needed to change. They needed more simple pick-and-roll instead of complicated sets designed to use multiple off-ball screens to get a shooter open while everyone else watched the play unfold.

That, in turn, makes games like win over the Portland Trail Blazers even more terrifying.

https://twitter.com/warriors/status/816911910528368640

We saw a glimpse of Golden State's continued evolution on Wednesday, as Curry finished with 35 points and on 12-for-25 shooting (including 13 3-point attempts). Yet the numbers mattered less than the process. For the first time in seemingly forever, Curry was free to operate with the ball in his hands. He and Durant engaged in that ever-lethal pick-and-roll they've practically begged coach Steve Kerr to install in his offensive system, and it worked wonders in gutting Portland's atrocious defense.

At times, Curry dribbled the rock into the ground, to be sure. There were fleeting moments when you questioned whether there was any end to his ballhandling means. In sum, though, the Wednesday win was Curry at his best — and the Warriors at the top of their game, too.

Curry's success didn't come at the expense of his fellow superstars. Durant was his typical lava-spewing self, Draymond Green toyed with Portland on both ends, and Klay Thomspon did his thing as the release valve in Golden State's offense (although admittedly, Thompson had a bit of an off night vs. the Blazers).

Yes, that clockwork performance came against one of the NBA's worst defense, but the Warriors' gorgeous offense was a sight to behold in Oakland.

There's still work to be done in Golden State, without a doubt. The sum can grow ever greater than the parts. But the Warriors learned last season how dangerous peaking too soon can be. In 2017, Golden State is running right on time — and it's becoming harder and harder to find flaws in these Warriors.