Stephen Curry hasn't been himself during the Western Conference finals. Part of that is the Thunder defense, as relentless as it is long. But he's also not healthy. That's not any kind of an excuse for his struggles, it's just a fact. He hasn't been the same player this series, at least not consistently. But he can be for stretches, and he -- along with the sizzling-hot Klay Thompson -- certainly found one of those magical stretches in the fourth quarter Saturday night when the Warriors sucked the life out of the entire state of Oklahoma with a comeback win for the ages to force a Game 7 on Monday.
Curry was everywhere in that final Warriors run, hitting huge 3s off the dribble, getting in the lane and creating havoc, everything we're used to seeing en route to a near-triple double of 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Not coincidentally, that's pretty much when the Warriors started looking like the Warriors again. Until then, it was Klay from deep and everyone else holding on by a thread. For all the talk of the Warriors' ball and player movement, Curry is what makes the offense go when he's right, and also what makes them sputter when he's not.
I'm not sure how anyone can watch the lack of quickness and explosiveness in Curry's game right now. He's fighting through it and finding rhythm here and there, but again, this is also a product of the Thunder. You'd also be foolish to not credit OKC and all its switching, physical play, length and athleticism. Every bit of strategy they've enacted to slow down the unanimous MVP -- whether he's 70 percent, 90 percent or some other number -- has worked as well as any defense is ever going to against Curry. And we've gotten a truly epic series because of it. OKC has been great.
But whatever the reason, if you've wondered why the Warriors haven't looked like themselves for much of this series, it's because of Curry's inability to be Curry. We've seen flashes. Inconsistent spurts in which you're reminded of the Vines and viral moments that danced on social media all season long. It's his game and the space it creates that leads to Draymond Green being able to be Draymond Green. It's his game that allows Thompson to not be the defense's focus despite being the next Ray Allen.
And it's also Curry's game that leads to Golden State's defense being so effective. Indeed, his offense fuels their defense because his offense is their lifeblood. It's so much of their energy. He gets the other team scrambling and that carries over to their own possession, for which the Warriors are usually back and set and ready to defend because that's what happens when you're making your shots.
This is how the Warriors become so overwhelming in such a short amount of time. It all snowballs. Curry hits a shot, you try to match, turn it over, get going too fast and off they go again. That sends the opposing offense into a state of worsening urgency that is constantly flirting with a widespread panic. When the Warriors smell blood on defense, they deflect passes, force turnovers or quick shots, and turn around to put up quick scoring binges. Before you know it you're down 20. But if you remove Curry -- or at least the Curry as we've come to know him -- from that scenario, you breathe much easier as a team.
That's been the struggle for the Warriors for so much of this series, not only finding their consistent offensive energy but their defensive energy in the absence of the real Curry. But for once in Game 6, we saw Thompson create that Curry-like gravity with his 41 points and NBA playoff record 11 made 3-pointers. It was a flurry of scoring that opened up a bit of room for Curry, who was battling most of the game to break through his lack of overall impact for whatever various reasons we decide to chalk this up to. But once he had that little extra room and hesitation from the defense, we saw the Curry of old. When you see the Curry of old, you see the Warriors of old.
And when you see the Warriors of old, you see the opponent crumble at the feet of Golden State's effort, intensity and seemingly unfair shot-making. Thompson was the story of the game. Andre Iguodala was the defender of the game. And Curry ended up with a great line of 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. But most of that damage was done in the second half and particularly the fourth quarter, and anyone watching this game knows that's really when the Warriors finally took control.
If anything, Curry's inconsistent brilliance shows the fight of the Warriors in forcing this Game 7 after going down 3-1 in the series. He's still a very good player out there, but taking this series to seven without him in peak form is impressive. The Thunder have forced the Warriors' hand to adapt, when it's often the Warriors who force you to adapt or die in embarrassing fashion. It's a reminder of the coaching acumen of Steve Kerr and his support staff. It's a reminder of the talent on this team, and even though they normally feed off of Curry's brilliance, they've managed to survive mostly without it.
None of it ultimately matters if they lose Game 7 in Oakland and fail to defend their 2015 title. Curry will be ridiculed for failing to show up consistently, whether he's 100 percent or not, and the reasons for why he was so much slower and less impactful than we're used to seeing won't be talked about in as nuanced a fashion as they should. Blood will be in the water with narratives, and that blood will lead a craze. He shouldn't have been the unanimous MVP. He's nothing but a good shooter. Some will find all of this unfair. Some will find it the cost of becoming a superstar, getting the hype and attention, and not coming through with a championship to validate a historic season.
Regardless of how this turns out, the Warriors need as much of the old Curry as they can possibly carve out however long their season lasts from here on out. Curry hasn't been himself. The Warriors haven't been themselves. But they've both been good enough, and if he returns to form again in Game 7, it will force the Thunder to prove that they're ready to take down the real Warriors.
