The Golden State Warriors fell victim to their worst loss of the season last night in a 93-144 thrashing at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. This might have been the worst game of Stephen Curry’s career, as he recorded zero made field goals and ended the night with just two points.
He was asked about the 51-point loss in comparison to their 52-point loss to the Boston Celtics last season. Curry made it clear that their positive vibes will prevail and they’ll rediscover success on the court after going 2-8 in their last 10 games.
“I like the vibes better right now… I’m going to keep saying it cause I genuinely believe it, we are better than what we have been playing, better than what we showed tonight. The vibes are way better. It’s nice to say it but you’ve got to be able to do something about it. So we’ll wait and see.”
“I don’t like the panic word, it’s more, accept where you are and buck up, and try to figure out how to change the momentum of the season. Panic means you don’t have answers, we have answers.”
This was a night to forget for Curry in particular, as he scored two points (0-7 FG, 0-6 3P) with three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. He had two turnovers as well, playing a disappointing 24 minutes before being benched.
This was a signature win for the Grizzlies, who bounced back from a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers with this emphatic win over the Warriors.
Golden State had a hot 12-3 start to the season, fighting for the No. 1 seed in the West, even going 3-0 over a stretch without Stephen Curry. They look like a far cry from that version of them, going 2-9 since then with the loss to the Grizzlies easily the worst of this stretch. They’re now the No. 10 seed and are just half a game ahead of the surging San Antonio Spurs.
Curry is averaging 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists this season, seeing his production numbers dip slightly in light of Steve Kerr playing him fewer minutes (30.6 MPG) in a deeper 12-man rotation which encourages other players to embrace greater offensive responsibility. This protects Curry from wearing himself out in the regular season, but even that couldn’t stop him from this performance last night.
It was his first single-digit game this season, but it’s something that could happen again, as Curry had four single-digit games throughout the 2023-24 season. He’s still one of the best shooters and offensive forces in the NBA, but his consistency has shown a propensity to wane.
Relying on Curry to be the primary offensive engine of this squad at his age is a little far-fetched, which explains why the team made runs at multiple players as potential co-stars next to Steph over the summer and are still linked to names like Jimmy Butler this season.
Hopefully, a marquee addition of that nature will turn the Warriors’ fortunes around, as they look in danger of missing the Playoff for the second consecutive season.
