Stephen Curry did it again. With the clock down to its final few ticks in the first half, the MVP found himself with the ball and one man to beat. Curry calmly took one dribble to the left to evade the defender and rose up for a shot from 55 feet. The ball soared through the air (allowing time for viewers to wonder “he’s not really going to do it again is he?”) before thwacking hard off the backboard and slipping through the net to give the home team a double-digit lead. Yes, he did it again. (Oh, and the Warriors silenced the Jazz in a 21-point rout and improved to 57-6. That too.)
 
Here are 10 thoughts on the game:

 

 

1) The Warriors have been in a kinda sorta slump since the All-Star break. If one were to break down all that currently ails the 57-win team, it would go something like this: lack of scoring from Draymond Green (10.1 points post-All-Star, 14.2 pre-AS); poor backup big man minutes with Festus Ezeli out, turnovers (20+ in last two games); and relying too much on Curry to bail the Dubs out. For one night at least, all was right again. Dray scored 17 points and shot 2-of-4 from 3-point to break a 4-for-26 slump; Mo Speights and Anderson Varejao combined for 25 points and 10 boards in 28 minutes behind Andrew Bogut; the team limited giveaways to 15; and Steph’s poor shooting night (4-12) wasn’t significant in a 21-point thumping of the Jazz. Consistent effort like this from the entire roster can only buoy the Dubs’ hope of making 73-win history.

2) After dropping that bomb from 55-feet, Curry is 4-of-11 on shots from 40 feet and beyond (per GSWStats). Small sample size for sure, but Steph is more accurate from 40-foot-plus (36.4%) than James Harden is from regular 3-point distance (34.9%).

Leandro Barbosa3) Watching Rudy Gobert (9 points, 15 rebounds) play basketball is so much fun. His Plastic Man stretchy arms thwart all shots at the rim and his wiry frame allows him to slip in for offensive rebounds (8) and put backs. If he ever perfects the Tyson Chandler rim-roll or a couple of back-to-the-basket moves, this guy could absolutely be a dominant force on a championship team.

4) Andre Iguodala returned to the rotation (22 minutes) after dipping in and out of the lineup the previous three games with a hamstring injury. His passing acumen immediately helped the Dubs get two easy baskets in the first quarter and then he did this.

5) At the 40-second mark of the second quarter, the Warriors swung the ball around seven times before finding an uncontested Harrison Barnes lay up. In addition to worrying about Curry shooting from 30 feet and tracking Klay at all times and not letting Bogut catch lobs and keeping Draymond from making plays like Magic Johnson, defenses also have to chase the ball as it pings around the court. That’s why this team lead the league in offensive efficiency by a mile.

6) Must stop myself from making Mo-is-better-than-Kaepernick jokes.

7) Dray looked for his shot more than usual in going 7-of-13 from the field. In the last 10 games he’s averaging only 8.8 shot attempts, down from his season totals, and is connecting on only 23% from distance. The Dubs would welcome back the Robot who averaged 14+ points and hit 40% from downtown.

Marreese Speights8) Harrison Barnes had 4 points, which gives him 17 total in the last three games. He’s averaging 11.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game and some team is definitely offering him more than $20 million per this off season. This new NBA reality must be a really nice place to exist in.

9) Let’s say Gordon Hayward (16 points, 6 boards) and Klay Thompson (23 points) had switched teams early in their careers. Would Hayward be a Splash Brother and a two-time All-Star? Klay has a quicker release on his shot and he’s feistier on D — and is a top-three shooting guard in the NBA — but he’s also been allowed to hone his game slowly alongside Curry while Hayward has had to shoulder much of Utah’s offense with little support. Klay’s talent and hard work has paid dividends for sure, but a little luck in getting drafted by the right team never hurts.

10) The NBA is nothing if not a stats league, Here’s a proposal for one more: Heave Percentage. Any shot beyond 40 feet is considered a “heave” and doesn’t count for or against three-point percentage. NBA players (not named Stephen Curry) are notorious for taking half court shots juuuuust after the horn sounds so as to not hurt their 3-point percentage. If there was a “heave percentage,” how many more bombs would we get at the end of quarters? Who wouldn’t want this? Heave way!