Has Stephen Curry Won His Last Championship With Warriors Amid Serious Concerns Over Draymond Green and Klay Thompson’s Future?

It’s Year 15 for Stephen Curry yet the story remains the same. The freak shooter has found a way to exemplify his game. The undersized guard is knocking down any perceptions of him slowing down. At 35, he still carries the burning vigor to come out and do magical things. That’s what you expect from the ace of one of the NBA’s most formidable dynasties. Yet his impact and groundbreaking burst are going in vain.

The Golden State Warriors had an eventful offseason. Not as thrilling as the Milwaukee Bucks who added Damian Lillard, but Chris Paul was meant to be the anchor behind Curry. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, his long-time accomplices were destined for another stellar season. However, the NBA world is soon realising the scary conditions of the 2022 champions. After an initial successful start, the franchise has crumbled into demise. Currently on a five-game losing streak, they have now dropped to the eighth seed. If the downfall wasn’t brutal enough, they are now facing an injury to Curry, the only hope they clung on to keep them afloat.

With their misery flaunted in all its glory without their central superstar, one can’t help but ponder – has the Warriors and Curry’s championship window shut down?

How miserable are the Warriors

Stephen Curry has been the lone shining ray of light for the franchise. Still, at the pinnacle of his powers, he jumped off to a historic start. At present, the 6’2” dynamo is one of the leading scorers in the league averaging 30.7 points per game. With his lightning-hot shooting consistency, the Warriors seemed to have their three-point barrage style of offense in full force. With him playing out of his mind, the Warriors are unhinged, almost unstoppable due to his prowess. In 11 games with Steph, the Warriors averaged 114 points per game. Even then they barely scraped a winning 6-5 record. In the last two appearances, Curry was sidelined due to a knee injury. It was then that the bitter truth came to the front.

Their offense collapsed as no single player could hold the anchor like Curry did. They are averaging only 105 points per game and are yet to win without him. Neither of Wiggins, Green, Paul, or Thompson have carried the baton in these games. There is yet to be a single game where either of them has scored more than 20 points. Call it a lousy start or a horror slump, it has driven the Warriors into major peril.

This season rather than the Warriors, there has been just a Warrior and that is Stephen Curry.

Stephen Curry needs help if the Warriors want to compete

The Bay has a collection of unique and complementary stars that previously made them lethal. That hasn’t prevailed this season. Let’s start with the newest addition, Chris Paul. Realistically, no one thought he would take a scoring role. His primary job was always going to be linking everyone on the floor, to form an undisturbed harmony. He has been exemplary in that aspect averaging high assists with low turnovers. However, his scoring efficiency, once revered for his flawless midrange game, and reduced to nothing. Paul is putting up his worst scoring season so far and is barely able to get anything to go through the hoop. In Curry’s absence, that deficit puts the Warriors in an even deeper hole.

Then is Andrew Wiggins. The former number-one pick has accustomed himself to the Warriors system brilliantly. A pivotal part in their finals conquest and coming off a commendable season averaging 17 points on respectable efficiency. Now his production is abysmal with just 10 points a night and only shooting 13.5% from downtown. His two-way presence alongside Green gave the Warriors an edge that boosted them into deep playoff runs in the past few seasons. Judging from his atrocious start, the Bay has lost that priceless touch.

Then there is Klay Thompson. In his prime, he was a splash brother with mindblowing defensive skills. He was labeled the best two-way player at one point. Until last season, he had spurts of brilliance that supported his case for an extension with the Warriors. If this was to be his final dance to prove his worth, the sharpshooter would be failing immensely to make an impression. Thompson has gone into shooting slumps that has yet to recover even in the slightest. In fact, he has gone colder than ever recently making just 29.8% of his threes in November. The inconsistencies have struck concern in the Dub Nation. Will Klay ever return back to his shooting self?

Lastly, there is Draymond Green – the inspiring voice of the Warriors. He has played his signature role so far in the season. But him putting Rudy Gobert in an unnecessary and prolonged chokehold earned him a five-game suspension. So now, the Warriors not only don’t have their focal offensive machine, but they lack their best defensive player as well.

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It can now go one either of two ways for the Bay Area. The first hypothetical is that the supporting stars find their rhythm and amplify Curry’s time on the floor. The other end of the spectrum sees an irrecoverable mess that will plummet the Warriors into despair.

Can the Warriors make a comeback?

With only 13 games played, the NBA season has many layers left to unfold. For the Warriors, a disastrous start could turn into an improbable comeback. But it isn’t a realistic expectation to keep. The Warriors have aging stars on their roster who are failing to keep up with the pace of the Western Conference. The only man who is carrying the hope is Curry. All the Dubs Nation can hope is he shoots the Warriors way into the postseason.

With Klay and Wiggins barely making any offensive contributions, the Warriors might have to defer to their younger core of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and Brandon Podziemski to substitute for their production.

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Unless the four fallen pillars of the Warriors don’t rejuvenate in time, it will likely spell the downfall. It is too early to count out the four-time champions though. They shocked the basketball landscape in 2022 with this very exact core. What’s to say they can’t do it again? All they need is for all the pieces to deliver consistently while the Chef keeps cooking.