Richard Jefferson believes the Warriors don’t have a big three.
Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are currently gearing up for what they hope is more than a one day voyage into the NBA postseason, which is slated to begin with the Play-In round later this month. The Warriors have picked up the pace a little bit in recent weeks and recently clinched their spot in the Play-In tournament, but that distinction is not exactly a great accomplishment for a team with a plethora of championship experience and with Curry still playing at an All-NBA level at age 36.
Curry has indeed had to carry an immense workload this season for a Warriors team that has seen Draymond Green give into his intrusive thoughts way too often and Klay Thompson fall off of a cliff in terms of his efficiency and production.
Recently, former Warriors star and NBA champion Richard Jefferson channeled a recent Metro Boomin song, Like That, featuring Kendrick Lamar in describing just how much of the heavy lifting Stephen Curry has had to do for Golden State this year.
“Right now, there is no big three. There’s a big me,” said Jefferson on ESPN’s NBA Today, via NBA on ESPN on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “There’s a big me and that is Steph Curry, and they’re still trying to figure out the other two… Draymond and Klay, they are not the same as they were when they were winning championships. Those two are different. Steph feels the same. That’s why I say that they are not currently a big three. They need to do it as a collective effort, hence the Andrew Wiggins conversation, and all of the other ancillary parts that they need in order for them to be successful.”
A frustrating season in the Bay
The Warriors weren’t necessarily expected to compete for an NBA championship heading into this season. After all, the team had just seen its biggest weakness-their lack of size in the interior–exposed thoroughly during their 2023 second round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The team did absolutely nothing to address that gaping hole in the offseason, and predictably got worse as Klay Thompson has looked less and less like his former self (while continuing to launch difficult shots like we’re still in 2016), while Draymond Green has somehow become even more of a loose cannon than he was previously.
Curry might not be quite at the levels of historic efficiency that he displayed during the 2015-16 season, when he joined the rare 50-40-90 club (really 50-45-90), but he has still played at an elite level this year and is good enough to be the best player on a championship team with the right teammates.
In order for the Warriors to even have a chance to participate in the actual playoffs themselves, which will require them winning not one but two elimination games likely on the road, both Thompson and Green will have to turn back the clock, while Curry will be relied upon to put together two of his best performances of the season.
Good luck.
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