Steph Curry couldn’t buy a shot during the Golden State Warriors‘ season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I played like trash,” Curry told TNT afterward.
He said it, not me. But he’s not wrong, at least in one respect: On Tuesday night, Curry was just 5-for-21 from the field, and just 2-for-8 from the perimeter. That is, quite obviously, not the norm for the greatest shooter in NBA history. And the Dubs won anyway, 121-114.
Why? How? Well, Golden State got expert-level contributions from its bench. Nemanja Bjelica had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Andre Iguodala, in his Warriors return, had 12 points. Damion Lee contributed 15 points. The Warriors also held Russell Westbrook to 8 points, which certainly helps.
But most crucially, Curry figured out how to contribute in more ways than one. He actually finished with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, which translates to his eighth career triple-double.
You don’t have to do lots of math to glean that Curry isn’t exactly known as a triple-double machine. In fact, this was his first triple-double performance since January 2016, according to the TNT telecast.
Golden State can’t count on Curry putting up Westbrookian statlines all season long, but they also don’t have any reason to worry about Curry shooting the ball like the Lakers point guard, either. They’ll take this first victory however they can get it.
