To Beat Thunder, Wemby Must Learn Lesson Warriors, Curry Learned Long Ago

Before the Golden State Warriors reached the mountaintop in 2015, they were a lot like the Spurs are today.

The Warriors had a younger version of Stephen Curry, who showed in the 2013 playoffs that he was capable of dominating on the biggest stage.

The Spurs have Victor Wembanyama, whose Game 1 performance of 41 points and 24 rebounds had some calling him the best player in the league.

So the Thunder have responded to Wemby the way many Curry opponents do—foul him constantly and see what they can get away with.

“OKC is teaching a valuable lesson,” Draymond Green wrote Friday on Threads. “One that teams started doing against us many years ago. They can only call but so many jersey grabs when Steph runs. So people just started grabbing him. He learned to play through it and became one of the greatest ever on the biggest stages. Wemby has to learn how to play through it, because teams are going to keep grabbing and holding him. Not going to change.”

Warriors Didn't Immediately Solve Curry Riddle

The Warriors lost in the 2013 conference semifinals to the Spurs, with Curry going just 14-of-39 over the final two games.

The cumulative effect of the physical defense they played against him seemed to wear him down.

Curry didn't taper off in Golden State's 2014 playoff loss against the Clippers, but he wasn't as aggressive offensively as he would prove to be in future playoffs, averaging 23.0 points per game.

In the 2015 playoffs, Curry reacted better to the physical defenses of the Grizzlies and Cavaliers en route to Golden State's first title in 40 years.

Defenses were geared to slow down Curry, yet he still averaged 28.3 points per game that playoff run.

That was the lesson Curry had to learn. Despite the fact that Curry was being doubled, grabbed and held, the Warriors were at their best when he was in shot-hunting mode instead of deferring.

Of course there's a balance. Curry wasn't taking 30-foot threes every possession. But when he was looking for his own offense most of the time, that took pressure off his teammates, who then were more likely to make the shots he created for them.

Can Wemby Learn the Lesson These Playoffs?

It's unlikely the Spurs will overcome this 2-1 deficit against the Thunder.

This is the first playoff run this group has had. Even since Game 1 when Wemby had 41 points on 25 field-goal attempts, he's taken 16 and 15 shots, respectively. Isaiah Hartenstein's increased presence has played a big role in that.

Wemby has to learn how to play through the physicality to exert his offensive dominance more often, and his teammates have to learn how to punish defenses for the extra defensive attention.

It took the Warriors two playoff failures to adapt.

Wemby also has to learn to play through being grabbed when he's on defense. That's something the dynasty Warriors didn't have to deal with.

There's no shame if the Spurs don't figure it out. They just rolled out the youngest conference finals starting lineup in history. They should have several chances to win a title with Wemby.

The Warriors didn't win their first title until Curry was 27. Wemby is 22.

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