The Warriors have now lost four of their last five NBA games after they were seemingly working their way up in the West standings, and there’s a growing concern over the health of their franchise star, Steph Curry.
Over at the Northwest, Damian Lillard continues to set the league on fire with his share of NBA 2022 highlights, carrying the Blazers to three straight victories and winning five of their last six.
And at the East, the Hornets are hoping to improve their NBA 2022 odds of winning more games with the return of their franchise point guard, LaMelo Ball.
Read on below as SBOTOP shares some takeaways from today’s 10-game schedule.
Warriors are over-reliant on Steph Curry
The Warriors are sweating over Steph Curry’s fitness since he has been their lifeline this season. So far, he’s averaging 30 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game with shooting splits of 59/43/92.
In their 125-119 loss against the Pacers, Curry recorded 38 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. But he only played 30 minutes as he was ruled out for the rest of the night due to a strained shoulder.
Curry was hurt during the third period while trying to defend Pacers center Jalen Smith, who bumped into the Warriors guard’s arm. Curry immediately went to the locker room during the timeout, and he’s set for an MRI check tomorrow.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that his superstar was in good spirits following the incident. But any time missed for Curry would be a huge blow for the Warriors – who have now fallen to a 2-13 record on the road and 14-15 overall.
With four road games coming up before their Christmas matchup against the Grizzlies, we wouldn’t be surprised if Steph Curry gets a couple of days off since they don’t want him banged up.
For the meantime, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson would be tasked with shouldering more of the load, while youngsters like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and Donte DiVincenzo need to step up.
With Andrew Wiggins sidelined, Poole has moved up a spot in the Warriors’ offensive pecking order. And so far, he has made the most of his opportunities, averaging 26.0 points per game over his last five.
Thompson, meanwhile, didn’t play at Indiana. However, he should be ready to go against Philadelphia on Friday. Over his last five, he has averaged 23.0 points per game.
Damian Lillard still has the hot hand
Damian Lillard is in an incredible zone right now. Since returning from a calf strain, he is averaging 34.4 points, 7.4 assists, and 3.6 rebounds.
Besides the gaudy averages, Lillard’s efficiency has been off the charts. During the aforementioned stretch, he was 53-per cent from the field and shot an absurd 51-per cent from three-point land.
Lillard knocked down 35 three-pointers – including 11 against the Timberwolves to match his career-high. It was his third career regular-season game in which he made this many, trailing only Steph Curry (12) for games with at least 11 made threes.
As of this writing, Lillard now has 17,971 career points and he’ll need 70 more to become the Blazers’ all-time leading scorer, surpassing Clyde Drexler (18,040). At the rate he’s going right now, Lillard would break the record probably at Oklahoma City next week.
Following their 128-112 victory over the Spurs on the road, the Blazers have improved to 16-12 to move into a tie for the fourth seed in the West standings with the free-falling Suns, who share the same record.
Can LaMelo Ball save the Hornets’ season?
After being sidelined for more than a month with an injured ankle, LaMelo Ball is back for the Hornets, but it wasn’t enough against the Pistons.
The Pistons beat the Hornets 141-134 as Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, and Killian Hayes all had 20-plus-point games.
As for Ball, he had 23 points on 50-per cent shooting along with 11 assists in his first game since mid-November. He fouled out late in the fourth period and was sorely missed in overtime as the Hornets passed the Pistons for having the worst record in the NBA at 7-21.
Prior to today’s defeat, the 2021 Rookie of the Year awardee and All-Star last season was averaging 19.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists through three appearances. While the Hornets’ offense is only going to improve now that Ball is back, they need to turn things around on the other end since they’ve conceded at least 120 points in their last four outings.
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