The game was decided already but Jarred Vanderbilt, Minnesota’s 6-foot-9 menace of a ballhawk, was still all over Stephen Curry as he dribbled the ball up the court. Curry countered the pressure by driving. He couldn’t get Vanderbilt off his hip as he drove into traffic, and his kick-out pass was deflected back towards the top of the key.
After tracking down the loose ball, Curry turned and found himself staring at Jaden McDaniels, another one of the Timberwolves’ 6-foot-9 ballhawks.
Curry’s response? To hell with it. He didn’t even dribble again, just suddenly launched from right where he stood. A 30-foot dagger 3 not seen in a while from No. 30. The rim was unscathed.
It was his sixth 3-pointer and the final bucket in the Warriors’ 124-115 win over Minnesota. And this time, he only needed 10 attempts to make six. If this was his breakout game, the breakthrough came on Wednesday.
During his normal post-practice shooting session, Curry was missing like crazy in practice, for him anyway. He knew what was wrong, what was missing from his usually succinct form. He just couldn’t isolate what was causing the issue. The problem was power.
“He started talking about how he wasn’t getting enough power and he’s kind of flicking balls at the top (of his shot),” said Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser, who has worked closely with Curry for years. “Especially when he was out more in range or off some movement.”
As Curry has explained it, the power starts at the base of his liftoff.
