Averaging 31 points per game on the season, Washington Wizards swingman Bradley Beal is currently the NBA’s leading scorer.
But that is not a title he is likely to hold much longer if Steph Curry, who has topped Beal’s average in eight straight games dating back to last month, keeps up the stunning scoring pace he is on in April.
While leading the Warriors to a 4-3 record this month (including three straight wins), Curry has averaged 39.9 points while shooting 56.9% from the field (including 50% from behind the 3-point line) and 92.1% from the line in 35 minutes of action per night.
As hot as he’s ever been during his 12-year career, Curry hit 11 3-pointers on Wednesday and 10 on Monday, the second time in his career he has had back-to-back games with 10 or more 3s.
Curry, who now has 19 career games with at least 10 made 3-pointers (14 more than any other player in NBA history), is so hot right now that it’s possible he’ll make a run at getting the single-game record for made 3s back from his teammate Klay Thompson.
Thompson made a record 14 3-pointers in October 2018 after Curry made 13 3-pointers in November 2016.
“The 14 3s. I had 11; I felt like I couldn’t miss. I think it’s gettable, but we’ll see,” Curry said Wednesday. “Context of seasons are always different. But this is — obviously the numbers, 30-plus and all that — is the longest streak, so that’s a good vibe there. Arguably the best I’ve felt physically and in rhythm, shooting the ball, just seeing the game, so trying to make it last as long as I can.”
Golden State’s all-time leading scorer after passing Wilt Chamberlain earlier this week, Curry has the Warriors (27-28) in contention for a playoff spot in the Western Conference via the NBA’s new play-in method.
But, even if Curry is still playing the way he is in April when the playoffs start in May, the Warriors probably don’t have a realistic shot at making a championship run or deep playoff push according to Michael C. Wright.
“Truth be told, there’s still plenty of time for the Warriors to catch up to the teams ahead of them in the conference standings. So, a postseason berth isn’t far-fetched,” he writes on NBA.com. “But does anyone really think Curry — as good as he is — can beat the top-seeded Jazz in a first-round series all alone (with Draymond Green’s help on the defensive end, of course) if somehow the Warriors finished the regular season as the eighth seed? The teams that need to be worried about Golden State are grouped right there with the Warriors in the conference standings for the play-in tournament. The Warriors could realistically knock off any of the teams sitting at seventh through 11th in a play-in situation, but in a postseason series where teams extensively game plan for opponents, that’s more unlikely given Golden State’s overall talent deficiencies compared to the rest of the squads competing for the top seed in the West.”
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