Hey there, Last Night In Basketballers — I am, as I do every year, re-appropriating the Three Things I Noticed on League Pass format to preview the upcoming season. Instead of three things I noticed, it’ll be something more along the lines of three things I’m looking forward to, interested in, or want to see. Some of them might be narrative-based, some might be stats, and some might include video. But they'll all be focused on the 2026-27 campaign.
The schedule for those posts will be as follows (podcasts previewing each division with Mo Dakhil are in parentheses):
- Atlantic Division (BOS, BKN, NYK, PHI, TOR) (Podcast)
- Central Division (CHI, CLE, DET, IND, MIL) (Podcast)
- Southeast Division (ATL, CHA, MIA, ORL, WAS) (Podcast)
- Pacific Division (GSW, LAC, LAL, PHX, SAC) (Podcast)
- Northwest Division (DEN, MIN, OKC, POR, UTA) (Podcast)
- Southwest Division (DAL, HOU, MEM, NOP, SAS) (Podcast)
So without further ado, let's get to the Golden State Warriors, who are kind of depressing.
Stephen Curry, one-man band
Last season, Curry had a 32.5% usage rate. That was his highest mark since the 2020-21 campaign, when he was at 34.8% in his return from the injury-marred season that limited him to just five games the year before.
Also last season, the only Warrior, including Curry, to play at least 50 games and have a usage rate above 20% (i.e. the league average) was Brandin Podziemski, who was at a mere 20.1% usage rate. (Curry himself only played 43 games.)
Other guys checked in above the 20% mark, obviously, with Kristaps Porzingis at 28.3%, De'Anthony Melton at 25.4%, Jonathan Kuminga at 24%, Jimmy Butler at 23.3%, and LJ Cryer (yes, really) at 20.3%. But KP only played 15 games, Melton played 49, Kuminga played 20, Butler played 38, and Cryer played 18.
Which means that for the most part, Curry was doing the "create offense" thing all on his own last season, when he was actually on the floor. And I don't see how it'll be any different this year — especially with Butler out for an undetermined length of time as he rehabs from his ACL tear and Porzingis now out for the foreseeable future with a "health issue."
None of the other guys on this team are guys who have carried really any usage at any time in their careers except for Al Horford, and he hasn't topped 20% in a full season since 2016. Even Melton had only posted an above-average usage rate just once in his career prior to last season (21.3% in 2021-22), when he was forced to spike up to 25.4%, and his efficiency cratered to its lowest point since his second year in the league under the weight of that extra usage.
I obviously wouldn't put it past Steph to do exactly what he does every year: carry a high usage rate and score with tremendous efficiency. That's just what he does, and it's what he'll likely do until he retires because of his unique skill set. But he could also wear down like he did last year, because carrying that burden at 38 years old is a lot to bear.
Can he play 65-70 games? He did it in each of the two seasons prior to last year, but he didn't reach that mark in any of the three seasons before that. This team really needs Jimmy back in the worst way.