This article is part of our Hoops Lab series.
On Saturday, I watched Stephen Curry go into full-on NBA Jam mode. It started right before halftime, when he got the ball with time running out and threw up a half-court shot -- nothing but strings. That seemed to trigger something in him, because he came out for the second half already in he's heating up mode. All it took was one made shot and, just like that, he's on fire!
Curry was throwing in shots from every angle. Threes that, after the game, even he would admit were heat checks. The lasting image of the game was Curry celebrating with Draymond Green after a huge shot, jumping into each other with Curry bouncing off and fall to the floor on his stomach with his arms out like he was flying, huge smile on his face. THAT is the video game Curry we've gotten to know over the last couple of years.
Back in December, we weren't seeing that Curry very often.
On December 5, Curry matched his then season-low with 13 points. The next game, he failed to make a three-pointer for the first time in recent memory on his way to 19 points. The next week, he turned in a 17-point performance, followed a couple of games later by a new season-low eight points. He'd go on to have four more games with fewer than 20 points in the month of December, including 15 points on Christmas Day in a loss to the Cavaliers. All told, from December
On Saturday, I watched Stephen Curry go into full-on NBA Jam mode. It started right before halftime, when he got the ball with time running out and threw up a half-court shot -- nothing but strings. That seemed to trigger something in him, because he came out for the second half already in he's heating up mode. All it took was one made shot and, just like that, he's on fire!
Curry was throwing in shots from every angle. Threes that, after the game, even he would admit were heat checks. The lasting image of the game was Curry celebrating with Draymond Green after a huge shot, jumping into each other with Curry bouncing off and fall to the floor on his stomach with his arms out like he was flying, huge smile on his face. THAT is the video game Curry we've gotten to know over the last couple of years.
Back in December, we weren't seeing that Curry very often.
On December 5, Curry matched his then season-low with 13 points. The next game, he failed to make a three-pointer for the first time in recent memory on his way to 19 points. The next week, he turned in a 17-point performance, followed a couple of games later by a new season-low eight points. He'd go on to have four more games with fewer than 20 points in the month of December, including 15 points on Christmas Day in a loss to the Cavaliers. All told, from December 5 until the end of the year, these were Curry's numbers:
Dec. 5 – Dec. 30: 19.7 pts (41.2% FG, 15.1 FGA), 95.2% FT (4.5 FTA), 6.1 ast, 4.6 reb, 2.2 TO, 3.0 threes
This prompted a lot of people to ask if something was wrong with Curry. On December 28, Jason Rubin and I addressed this in a TYTSports video. Though some went as far as to claim that Curry should be traded, our sense was that the Curry and the Warriors just needed more games to find their rhythm. My expectation coming into the season was that Kevin Durant would have to adjust to being on the Warriors. Instead, it appeared that Durant had settled in easily as the new centerpiece and that Curry was the one who had to adjust. So there were fewer moments when Curry was simply letting loose, tossing up heat checks, trying out And1 Mixtape moves. And that seemed, ever so slightly, to play on Curry's confidence and production.
Maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe he was just going through a cold spell. Either way, Jason and I were both confident that he would eventually wake up. And one month later, it certainly seems that Curry has found himself.
Curry has scored at least 20 points in every game this calendar year -- that's 13 games and counting. And his overall numbers for this month have looked a lot more Steph Curry-like than they did in December:
Jan. 2 – Jan 28: 27.8 pts (47.9% FG, 20.5 FGA), 86.3% FT (3.9 FTA), 6.9 ast, 4.5 reb, 3.6 TO, 4.8 threes
A few notes of interest. For one, Curry's shot attempts are up by more than five per game in January, as compared to that stretch in December, and he's also averaging almost 1.5 more turnovers per game. To me, this translates to him finally getting comfortable enough to be himself more. Perhaps the Warriors coaches noticed the same phenomena and encouraged him to start freelancing again. Either way, the extra volume and ball-handling seems to have translated into Curry finding his shooting stroke and, maybe more importantly, that carefree joy that he seems to get from throwing in circus shots that no one else would even attempt.
That's wonderful news for Curry owners but terrifying for the rest of the league.
Around the NBA
Embiid's knee: Joel Embiid is listed as doubtful for, but will not travel to, the next two games for the 76ers. He is still dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee that caused him to miss five of the last six games. Embiid was close to being cleared, but the 76ers are erring on the side of caution which is absolutely the right thing to do. While he is out, the center minutes for the 76ers should be distributed between Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. Okafor got the start on Monday and played 22 minutes, scoring 15 points with four boards and two assists. Noel came off the bench, but played 25 minutes and scored 12 points with three boards, three steals, two assists and a block. For now, it appears that the minutes will be split fairly evenly between the two in Embiid's absence.
Jokic's hip: Nikola Jokic will miss Tuesday's game due to his hip injury, his second straight absence. He has been working out in a pool, though, and has not yet been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Grizzlies, which seems to indicate that the injury isn't serious. His absence seemed like a good opportunity for Jusuf Nurkic to step up and produce, but he only played 15 minutes on Sunday so there is some question as to whether he'll be able to earn more minutes on Tuesday and possibly going forward.
Love's back: Kevin Love had an MRI on his injured back on Monday, but no structural damage was found. He has a history of back issues, though, so the Cavaliers will be cautious with their star big man. He has already been ruled out for Wednesday's game against his former team, and he should be considered questionable for games after that until further information is provided. Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson are in line for extra playing time while Love is out.
Rose's ankle: Derrick Rose sprained his ankle on Friday and had to sit on Sunday with a walking boot. Coach Jeff Hornacek has already suggested that Rose is unlikely to play in the Tuesday/Wednesday back-to-back, though that has not yet been made official. Brandon Jennings replaces Rose in the starting lineup and is averaging 17.6 points, 6.4 assists, 4.1 boards and 2.0 treys in 36.9 minutes in his seven starts this season.
Randle not quite back: Julius Randle has been cleared to resume basketball activities after his illness but won't play on Tuesday against the Nuggets. It's his second straight game out, and in his first absence Tarki Black and Ivica Zubac picked up 30 and 26 minutes of action, respectively.
Mudiay almost back: Emmanuel Mudiay has been dealing with a back issue that has kept him out of four straight games, and initially he was not expected to join the Nuggets on their current, two-game road trip. However, now he will make the trip with the team ahead of Tuesday's game against the Lakers, which suggests that he should be ready to return soon. In his absence, Jameer Nelson has been a legitimate roto asset and a very playable DFS option.
Rondo back on rise?: After completely falling out of the Bulls' rotation, Rondo has quietly worked his way back onto the court. Michael Carter-Williams didn't do much with his starting gig, and Jerian Grant simply isn't very good. Plus, it's possible that Rondo's public back-and-forth with Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler over leadership may have actually endeared him to his coach a bit. Whatever the reason, Rondo has played 21 and 32 minutes in his last two games, averaging 10.5 points, 8.5 assists, 6.0 boards and 1.5 steals in those two contests. He is anything but a guarantee to play, but when Rondo does play we know well what kind of numbers to expect from him. He's also down to 60% owned in Yahoo! leagues, which means he might be available for free if you want to take a flyer on him.
New Additions and DFS value
Courtney Lee, GF, (49% owned in Yahoo! Leagues): Lee has scored 13 or more points in five straight games, averaging 16.6 points (52.6% FG, 100% FT), 5.2 boards, 2.2 asssits, 2.2 treys and 1.2 steals in 37.4 minutes over that stretch.
Brandon Jennings, G (27% owned): As mentioned above, Rose is dealing with a sprained ankle that makes him questionable to play this week. If Rose sits, Jennings makes a good short-term add with his averages of 17.6 points, 6.4 assists, 4.1 boards and 2.0 treys in 36.9 minutes in his seven starts this season.
P.J. Tucker, GF (22% owned): Tucker is quietly productive as a garbageman, averaging 11.3 points with 5.2 boards, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 treys over his last six games.
Jameer Nelson, G (14% owned): Nelson, like Jennings, is primarily only useful when the starter is out. Emmanuel Mudiay has missed some time, but may be back as soon as Tuesday. Nelson should be used until Mudiay is officially back, and actually makes a reasonable stash candidate even when Mudiay is healthy if you have the room on your roster.
Yogi Ferrell, G (3% owned): Ferrell was a shocking addition to this list, as he was just signed to a 10-day contract and made his debut on Sunday. However, with Deron Williams and J.J. Barea out, Ferrell was able to leap-frog Devin Harris into the main unit. In back-to-back games, Ferrell has averaged 14 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 boards, 3.0 steals and 2.0 treys per game. It appears that he'll be useful until either Williams returns or his 10-day contract(s) end.
Keeping up with the Professor
The Hoops Lab is now a blog with daily content, so check out/follow for the freshest NBA content every day. Follow me on Twitter @ProfessorDrz. Also, don't forget that you can catch me on the radio on Rotowire Fantasy Sports Today with Chris Liss and Jeff Erickson on XM 87, Sirius 210 on Tuesdays at 1:30 PM EST. Plus, I'm doing DFS articles just about every day, writing analytics pieces for Nylon Calculus on the Fansided Network, and I co-host the TYTSports basketball show on the weekends.
