2015 NBA Playoffs: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Golden State Warriors roundtable
Apr 7, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) scramble for a loose ball during a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Warriors 103-100. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
More 30 point games in the series, Stephen Curry or Tyreke Evans?
Joe: Stephen Curry. Steph is more explosive than Tyreke and can score in bunches very quickly, which I believe gives him the edge. That it not to say Tyreke will be irrevelant, though, as he will still be the main ball handler for this series. I think he could change the complexion of this series, though, if he can take Klay or Steph in the post and get them into early foul trouble. Especially if Kerr switches Curry onto Tyreke, I would be upset if we didn’t see him in the post bullying either of these guards. That is one way I think we can beat these guys, early foul trouble for the Splash Brothers.
Charles: Steph definitely will have more 30 point games. Steph can literally go from 0-30 in the blink of an eye. He makes some ridiculous threes that no one has any business taking but he makes them, which is even more insane. Tyreke is without question a capable scorer but he doesn’t exactly score in bunches evidenced by his three thirty point games, one of which was against the Warriors, compared to 14 for Curry. Now if you asked who is more important to their team’s success in the series that would certainly be Tyreke because of the size advantage over the Warriors guards and if they switched Andre Iguodala or Harrison Barnes on to him, he is too shifty and can penetrate the lane to find open shooters.
Rick: Curry. He’s been on a rampant scoring pace this year and has found the shooters touch quite often. Tyreke is known for putting up good scoring outputs, yet his role has changed greatly with the return of Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday. Now he’s seen more as a facilitator on the floor for the entire team. He’s looking to pass the ball more often or not and even when he gets going on the offensive end, it’s mostly in transition. Curry can get on fire in a number of ways and with the threats Golden State has on the floor, it’s much more likely Curry is going to find more 30 points games than Tyreke. If he’s guarded by Reke or Eric Gordon, who have struggled to keep their matchups in check at times, it could be a common occurrence.
Matt: I actually think the answer if Evans here but it will only be one. I don’t think that the Pelicans will let Curry get going before bringing in Jrue Holiday who is as close to a Curry stopper as exists in the league. On the other hand I think that Evans can give the Warriors guards a bit of a problem and if Andrew Bogut gets in foul trouble Evans can have a big game. That is what I am banking on with this answer at least.
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