Klay Thompson had set fire to the powders in the regular season, with his declaration on the ambitions of Golden State in 2021-22. However, his words came back to the ears of Stephen Curry after the success in Game 1. The local franchise player therefore had to react to it, in front of the media.
The conference finals are not going to be easy for the Warriors, but Game 1 was masterfully managed by the Californian franchise. Opposed to the Mavs of Luka DoncicSteve Kerr’s men simply gave no quarter, dropping a clear score to pocket the victory (112-87, summary here). Impeccable in defense, very successful offensively (56% shooting), they left no chance to their opponents.
Unsurprisingly, fans have reason to be confident, with the situation looking near perfect for the Dubs. Memphis and Phoenix, with the West’s two best regular campaign records, have already had to say goodbye to title chances. With no disrespect to Dallas, the Bay men are the favorites for this series. Some will therefore already dream of the Larry O’Brien trophy, especially after what Klay Thompson said a few weeks ago:
It’s title or nothing this season.
The year or never for the Warriors? Curry responds cash
The opinion of the San Francisco sniper is powerful, since he practically condemns his teammates and him to the ultimate coronation if they do not want to be set on fire. This is probably why in the GS locker room, we tried to calm things down on this subject. Stephen Curry was indeed questioned about it at a press conference, after the success. However, the Chief made it clear that he did not want to worry about that, instead playing the card of humility with the media:
« We’re not skipping ahead any part of this journey, we understand we just won 1 game in the Western Conference Finals and we got a lot of work left ahead of us… would love to make him a prophet. »
Steph Curry on Klay Thompson championship or bust quote from early in the season. pic.twitter.com/laC0T1KaXk
— NBA (@NBA) May 19, 2022
I expected him to say something like that, in anticipation of his return (from injury, editor’s note), but… We are not skipping any steps on this journey, we understand that we have only just won a match in the finals conference in the West and that we still have a lot of work to do to get back to the NBA Finals… I would love for him to become a prophet with this declaration, however.
The logic of the double MVP is implacable: everything goes very quickly in the big league, and even more during a series of playoffs where the momentum can change sides in a flash. A defeat in Game 2 would reset the counters to zero, for example, so you might as well focus on one match after another. If the Splash Brothers and consorts were to reach the last step before the title, they will have to reason in the same way in order to avoid disillusionment.
Steph Curry does not want to worry about Klay Thompson’s prediction during the season, preferring to focus on the next meeting. As the leader of the California squad, that’s definitely the best mentality to apply.
