Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry has opened this season right where he left off during the NBA Finals.

The Warriors' generational superstar is averaging 32.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists on a 51.2/43.1/93.4 shooting split.

So why are the Warriors only 4-7? Look no further than their two-timeline plan, which sounds great in theory but has proved costly in practice.

With Curry playing like an MVP and the starters dominating, the Warriors’ path to another title is clear. But they could easily veer off a cliff if management continues to let their young draft picks take the wheel.

James Wiseman's and Jonathan Kuminga’s struggles aren’t just bumps on the road. Management’s faith in them is far more detrimental than a few missed defensive rotations and bungled dunks. The choice could tank this season.

The Warriors have been selling a two-timeline plan. But they should only be focused on one timeline. That timeline is Curry.

Players like Curry come around once every generation, and the Warriors should be scared to waste a second of his prime. And this year, they’re dangerously close to wasting it unless they make some changes.

Here are the ways in which the Warriors’ decision to prioritize the "win now, develop now" ideology could be detrimental to what remains of the Curry dynasty era and this contention window.

Lottery picks are not a fit

Curry’s style defines the Warriors’ success. While most teams use a steady diet of high pick-and-roll, the Warriors’ attack is multifaceted and motion-based, often with their superstar guard playing off-ball.

This style requires versatile, high-IQ players capable of playing multiple roles and making decisions on the fly. The result is hard to guard and even harder to replicate.

But Wiseman and Kuminga, the Warriors’ most recent top-10 picks, were drafted as development projects with no certainty that either could play the Warriors' way.

Wiseman is going through extreme growing pains. But even if he improves, is his style of play what the team really should invest in?

The team has what would be an NBA-worst offense and defense when he’s on the floor. Jordan Poole’s slow start should be partly attributed to the way he must change his game while sharing the floor with Wiseman. The ball stops moving and Poole starts force-feeding the big. That’s not good.

One of Curry’s best attributes as a superstar is his ability to make any player better when sharing the floor with them. When Wiseman is on the floor with Curry, the Warriors’ offensive rating is only 103.5, and their overall net rating is minus-19.5, per Cleaning The Glass. For reference, the Warriors have a plus-14.3 net rating and 125.6 offensive rating with Curry on the floor and Wiseman off it.

That swing is the difference between the best offense and worst offense in the NBA. The 2020 No. 2 pick is out of his element in Golden State and far away from being able to contribute to a team with championship aspirations.

Head coach Steve Kerr sat him out of Monday’s win in favor of Anthony Lamb, a player recently signed on a two-way contract.

Kuminga hasn’t been much better. He had two DNPs on their five-game road trip. And his introduction back into the rotation on Monday was rough, as he finished minus-17 in nine minutes.

Warriors chose youth over experience on the bench

Statistically, the Warriors bench is one of the worst in the NBA, while the starters are dominating. Per Synergy, entering Saturday's games the Warriors' starting lineup had a plus-23 net rating and every other lineup had a minus-14 net rating.

It didn’t have to be this way. Last year the Warriors struck gold with the low-cost additions of Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II.

They fit the Warriors’ unique read-and-react system and gave Kerr the depth to not only mix-and-match based on matchups, but the ability to withstand stretches when Curry wasn’t on the floor.

This depth was a vital part of the championship team. Players like Damion Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson could also come off the bench in a pinch and play the Warriors' style without a hitch.

Those veterans now swapped for inexperience, the Warriors' bench is a mess, forcing them to place a heavier burden on their starters.

On Monday, Game 11 of the season, Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins all played nearly 40 minutes to eke out a win against a middling Sacramento team.

This is unsustainable. There’s little chance the young players can play at the level the team needs them to this season, which means a title is in jeopardy unless the front office can add more veteran experience to the bench.

The depth didn’t need to be gutted

The Warriors are deep into the repeater luxury tax, spending around $360 million, and money conscious. So when Payton and Porter were offered more money in free agency than the Warriors wanted to offer, it made sense to let them walk.

But the choice happened only because of the money Wiseman and Kuminga are making this and next year, which has a nearly equal impact on their luxury tax payments that Payton or Porter would have had on their new contracts.

Lee and Toscano-Anderson ended up signing veteran-minimum contracts for other teams. Neither received a significant pay raise to their previous year's salary, and they were replaced by rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins, neither of whom have seen the floor in a meaningful way.

Four veterans off the bench aged 29 to 30 were replaced with players age-21 or under with limited to no professional experience.

What’s worse, Kerr has tempered expectations for their prospects, cautioning fans that Wiseman and Kuminga may not produce immediate results. Perhaps they can turn into decent basketball players on a team that will allow them to learn how to play basketball.

If Wiseman or Kuminga aren’t able to significantly improve and contribute consistently off the bench within the next few months, management should look to acquire reliable veteran help for the bench. And, though it may seem extreme, that could include trading one or both of them. A wasted year of Curry’s generational career is at stake if they don’t at least consider this option.

Draymond Green praised Stephen Curry for a 47-point performance that carried the Golden State Warriors to a 116-113 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

"It was very Game 4 of the [2022] NBA Finals to me. He just wasn't going to allow us to lose," Green told reporters. "Take that with a grain of salt because I'm not saying this game was as important. But you know when to get out of the way. It was one of those times where he was taking over."

Along with the game-high point total, which was built on the strength of seven three-pointers, Curry also recorded eight rebounds and eight assists with no turnovers in 38 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abc7XHEQjQU

In Game 4 of last season's Finals, with the Warriors trailing the Boston Celtics 2-1 in the series, the eight-time All-Star tallied 43 points as part of a crucial 107-97 victory. Golden State went on to capture the championship in six games.

As Green mentioned, an early November game isn't anywhere close to the same scale, but it could still be an important turning point for the Dubs.

Golden State is off to a sluggish start in its latest title defense with a 4-7 record, including five straight losses prior to Monday's triumph over the Kings.

Curry made 17 of his 24 shots from the field, including a 7-of-12 mark on threes, and compiled a game-high plus-20 to carry the Warriors.

"Steph was just breathtaking," head coach Steve Kerr said. "He's obviously one of the greatest players of all time, and he plays so well on so many nights. But this even seemed like something special for him."

The 34-year-old point guard pushed aside the idea he has the burden of carrying the team, saying it's important to the younger members of the rotation time to grow.

"We have to understand that [the young players] are all going to get an opportunity to perform, and there are going to be some struggles—some real high highs, and some real low lows," Curry said. "That's the story of this team. As vets, you understand every year is a little different and you are ready for that challenge. For these young guys to try to find themselves in this league and also a specific role, it's challenging."

Golden State has a favorable schedule through Thanksgiving, giving the team a chance to bounce back toward or above .500 after the slow start.

The Warriors can't depend on Curry to have that type of performance every night, though. It's going to take a more balanced offensive attack to build some sustained momentum.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Friday that shooting guard Klay Thompson may not play games on back-to-back days this season.

"Klay may not play in a back-to-back all year," Kerr said, per ESPN's Kendra Andrews. "He didn't last year because of two straight season-ending injuries."

The struggling 3-6 Warriors will be without Thompson, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins on Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans because of various listed ailments. All four of them played Thursday in a 130-129 loss to the Orlando Magic.

If Thompson does not play back-to-backs this year, then he will miss at least 13 more games. The 2022-23 schedule has the Warriors playing 13 back-to-back sets, with the next one occurring Nov. 13 and 14.

Thompson suffered a torn ACL during the 2019 NBA Finals that kept him out for the entire 2019-20 season. He then suffered a torn Achilles during a Nov. 16, 2020 preseason workout that forced him off the court for all of 2020-21.

The former Washington State star didn't return to the team until Jan. 9 of last season. He played on a minutes restriction before the team lifted it in March.

As Kerr noted, Thompson never played on back-to-back days, missing the front or back end of them nine times after he returned.

Thompson ended up playing 54 games (32 regular season, 22 playoffs) for the NBA champion Warriors last season. He averaged 20.4 points per game in the regular season and 19.0 PPG in the postseason.

This season, the five-time All-Star is averaging 15.0 points per game on 36.4 percent shooting. It's a far slower start than usual for the four-time NBA champion, but he may have snapped that slump Thursday after a 27-point outing where he hit seven three-pointers.

His next chance to return to the lineup will be Monday at home against the Sacramento Kings.