Curry says Warriors don't expect to blow everyone out
— -- PHOENIX -- The Golden State Warriors had a feeling this would be the path they would have to travel down.
They wanted to believe their collective talent would be too overpowering for opponents in the midst of what is expected to be a difficult transitional period. However, they knew deep down that they would be vulnerable throughout the early stages of the regular season, and that has been the case.
In trying to incorporate superstar Kevin Durant into the fold, the Warriors were abused by the? San Antonio Spurs?at Oracle Arena in a 29-point rout on opening night. Golden State followed it up with back-to-back road wins over the injury-plagued New Orleans Pelicans and the rebuilding Phoenix Suns, neither victory coming easy.
The whispers of "maybe they won't be that good" are minuscule for the time being, but the players are certainly cognitive of the external chatter.? Stephen Curry,?the two-time MVP, explained that this trying process and the outside critiquing were bound to happen.
"Preseason is one thing, but then you get to the regular season, and it's kind of like we're supposed to be 100 percent dialed in and blowing people out every night. We understand that's not going to happen," Curry told ESPN after Friday's season-opening loss. "It sucked that we didn't win our first game [against San Antonio], but we don't buy into the noise, really, because there's so much to accomplish. There was no need to get crazy after one game."
Right now, the Warriors are three games in and it hasn't been the prettiest of sights.
One of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in NBA history, the Warriors are shooting 27 percent from beyond the arc, placing them among the bottom 10 teams in the league. The run-and-gun, free-flowing offense the Warriors have used to obliterate the opposition has been absent thus far.
Instead, the offensive attack has been infested with hesitancy, doubt and lack of trust. Coach Steve Kerr acknowledged Sunday that there has been frustration over how slowly the team is gelling.
Players also sense the difference in how this season is being covered, though many expected the narrative to shift from admiration to detestation after Durant chose to partner with?All-Stars Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
"We can't control that," Curry said to ESPN. "It's kind of a hard thing to get at, because we're not the ones writing stories. We definitely have fun and play a certain style whether you like it or not. That's who we are, but I guess it took until this summer, this offseason for some negative stuff to be written about us. But if you're winning, and you're winning championships and doing what you're supposed to be doing, the scrutiny usually is for a good reason, and that's what it is."
The expectations are astronomical. This team is being viewed as an 82-game All-Star tour that should annihilate whoever sets foot on the hardwood, although that's unrealistic to expect. A team that won an NBA-record 73 games a year ago has somehow seen the stakes elevated even higher. That could cause immense pressure if one allows it to creep in.
"At the end of the day, we're all human beings," Andre Iguodala told ESPN of criticism from media and fans. "We try not to listen to the chatter, but it can have an effect on you if that's all you hear when we're outside in public. They want to paint you as whatever they're saying about what type of team we are. They want to hate us, but I've said from the beginning, the way we play, people enjoy watching us play, so it's going to be hard for them to not like us."
Only time will tell if this is true.
But in the meantime, Iguodala said that they "have to stop being so tense. We forget to just relax, play basketball, play with some energy and have fun. When we do that, we're going to get our flow. We're going to get wins."
Just how long the struggles will persist before the Warriors start producing those jaw-dropping victories we've grown accustomed to seeing is anybody's guess. "I have no idea how long it will take," Kerr said
