Stephen Curry has its name marked in the NBA history. It is a pitcher who has changed basketball and has won four titles in the US League so far. His success in the finals, however, has never been reproduced in a very previous step.
The 37-year-old star tries to change this on Tuesday (15), when the Golden State Warriors receives Memphis Grizzlies at the Chase Center in San Francisco for the “Play-in”. This is the recap adopted in the championship since 2020 to define the latest classifieds to “Playoffs”, the traditional knockout with 16 teams-the west conference, eight from the Eastern Conference.
In the current format, the first six in each conference go straight to the playoffs. The seventh and eighth face into a single game for the first of the remaining two vacancies. The other is defined in the duel of the 7th x 8th game loser with the winner of the 9th x 10th game.
The Golden State was very close to securing sixth position in the west and avoid the “play-in”, but lost in the final round to the Los Angeles Clippers in extension, and fell to seventh. So you will face Memphis eighth at home. If you lose, you will still have one last opportunity, also at home, against the Sacrament Kings (9th) and Dallas Mavericks (10th) Sacramento winner.
Warriors are favorites and have two chances, but their record is terrible in “Play-in”: three losses in three games. In 2021, as eighth place, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers (103 to 100) and Memphis Grizzlies (117 to 112). In 2024, as a tenth place, they fell before the Kings Sacrament (118 to 94).
“There is a sense of urgency,” summarized Curry. “We have our history in Play-in, which is well documented. So you finally want to experience the feeling of surviving this step and thus having the chance to face Houston [Rockets, 2º do Oeste, que aguarda o vencedor de Golden State x Memphis].”
There are reasons this time for optimism. Since arrival in February of Jimmy Butler, 35, the Californian team has won 22 games and lost six, a 78.6%success. Butler is known to grow in the knockout, and his hiring seems to have rejuvenated Curry and his old companion Darymond Green, 35, favorite to the best defender prize of the year.
“He does what the game asks,” said Stephen, praising Jimmy for his performance despite the hard loss of Sunday (13) to the clippers, with 30 points and nine assists. “I’m excited because we have it here.”
Butler wants to help. And twice runner-up with Miami Heat, whether the help of the four-time Golden State champions to finally have the feeling of lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy.
“We have a lot of very good basketball players. I like the trust they have in me and I have the same amount of confidence in them,” said the Texan, who quickly built a good relationship with coach Steve Kerr.
“So play-in, here we go!”
