Steven Resnick
stevenresnick

4 Rants

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Last season was a year to forget for Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry who managed to play in just 26 games due to a sprained right ankle. He has worked hard on rehabbing the ankle and says “we’re being patient with it, so that by Oct. 31 I am playing without any restrictions and no hesitation.”

The problem after he first injured the ankle in preseason was the lack of patience in letting the ankle heal. So after missing a couple of games he would return to the lineup and ended up re-injuring the ankle multiple times during the season before having the ankle surgery that ended his season.

In the 26 games he played in he averaged 14.7 points, 5.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals on 49 percent shooting, 45.5 percent from three and 80.9 percent from the free throw line. When healthy he possesses one of the best jumpers in the NBA, is not a player that a team wants to foul and he’s unselfish. He does have the tendency to become too unselfish and ends up turning the ball over and needs to improve defensively.

Yet, without him in the lineup it gave an opportunity to second round pick Charles Jenkins to showcase what he could do on the court. He averaged 5.8 points, 3.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. He scored a career high 27 points in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers and dished out a career high 12 assists against the New Jersey Nets.

He owns a very good jumper from 15-18 feet, has good vision on the court and does not turn the ball over.  For the upcoming 2012-2013 season he’ll be the no.3 point guard.

Jarrett Jack who signed in the offseason adds depth to the position and if there are any setbacks with Curry’s ankle he has starting experience. He started 39 games for the New Orleans Hornets and averaged 15.6 points, 6.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, on 45.6 percent shooting, 34.8 percent from three and 87.2 percent from the free throw line. He’s a solid defensive player and is more willing to attack the basket than settle for an outside jumper.

Keeping Curry healthy will be key and in case of injury there’s no need to rush him back to the lineup with the depth on the roster. Expect a career high in assists per game  with the talent on the roster in David Lee, Andrew Bogut, Carl Landry, Harrison Barnes, Brandon Rush and Klay Thompson.