The Splash Brothers Prevail Yet Again For Golden State Warriors
By Joseph Crevier
@JosephMCrevier
Rocky Widner-Getty Images
The Golden State Warriors‘ backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson lit up the Los Angeles Lakers in a Sunday night 136-115 blowout victory, improving their record to (8-2). Kobe Bryant was left laboring out there, scoring 44 points in three quarters, with little to no outside help from his teammates, who displayed a lack of heart and passion yet again. Effortless defense led to a combined 48 points, 18 assists and seven rebounds from the Splash Brothers, who torched the Lakers from the very beginning.
Since inking a four-year max extension, Thompson has manifested himself into the league’s best two-guard, eclipsing James Harden for sole possession of the throne. Aside from a career-high scoring average (24.3), Thompson’s defense has been magnificent as usual as he’s done a fine job masking Curry’s defensive deficiencies. Clearly the Team USA experience was highly beneficial to a player primarily known solely for his outside shooting. Thompson has made it a point of emphasis to attack the basket, and I’d imagine the next step would be to develop a high-post game, emulating that of his childhood mentor, Kobe Bryant.
Running the point, Curry endured a bit of a three-point shooting slump, but has evidently gotten back on track Sunday night vs. the Lakers, nailing five of nine. Another encouraging sign for Curry has undoubtedly been his emphasis on creating for his teammates, recording three double-digit assist games thus far in the season. The six-year man is also a very underrated rebounder for his size, grabbing nearly six per game this season.
Further, this deadly backcourt duo has separated themselves from the other prominent backcourts in the league by a landslide. If they can keep this incredible level of play up throughout the remainder of the season, the Warriors not only have a legitimate shot at snagging the No. 1 seed in the brutal Western Conference, but I’d safely declare them favorites to win the NBA title. There is simply no opposing backcourt that is capable of containing these two guys.
Joseph Crevier covers the New York Knicks for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, @JosephMCrevier, and Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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