Steph Curry Erased an 0-3 Start With 44 Points — Now Comes the Hard Part

For three games, the Golden State Warriors looked like a team circling a drain. A 22-point opening-night loss in Los Angeles, a home collapse against Memphis, a loss in Phoenix that dropped them to 0-3 for the first time in Stephen Curry's career. Then Curry went to Denver and shot 8-for-8, and followed it with 44 points in Minneapolis in a 119-114 win over the Timberwolves — a victory that nearly evaporated after Golden State let a 24-point lead shrink to single digits.

That's the week in miniature: genuine relief, real reasons for hope, and a structural problem that no hot shooting night fixes.

The 38-Year-Old Safety Net

Curry's line in Minnesota: 44 points on 11-of-27 from the floor, 16-of-16 from the free-throw line, eight rebounds, six assists, plus-10 in 32 minutes. The performance tied LeBron James on the NBA's 40-point list, per multiple reports. Over his last four games he's averaging 28.8 points on 47.7 percent shooting and 38.9 percent from three, all in just 27.5 minutes a night.

That last number is the tell. Steve Kerr is managing Curry's workload carefully, and Curry is still producing at a rate that has to be nearly maxed out for this roster to function. Jimmy Butler is still rehabbing an ACL, and the Warriors opened the season without their starting small forward, starting center, and starting shooting guard. Curry isn't supplementing a contender right now. He's carrying one.

Lendeborg Is the Real Story

The most consequential development of the week wasn't the 44 points — it was rookie Yaxel Lendeborg. In five starts he's averaging 22.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists on 47.5 percent shooting, including a 31-point, 12-rebound outing in the Denver win and 26 and 9 against Minnesota. He's already drawn a comparison to Butler from Curry himself, which tells you how the organization views his role once Butler returns.

The caveats are real. Lendeborg is turning it over 3.6 times a game, and he's learning on the job against NBA rim protectors. But he's the first young Warrior in years to hand the front office something other than theoretical hope.

Porzingis Is Now a Roster Hole, Not a Question

Kristaps Porzingis has been out indefinitely with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, an issue that kept him out of training camp and the entire preseason. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Porzingis is seriously weighing whether to continue playing, and the Warriors have reportedly opened trade discussions. Golden State has also reached out on New Orleans center Yves Missi, per a report from In the N.O.

That's a season-altering loss at the position Golden State was most dependent on reshaping. Curry has been candid about how much Porzingis's absence changes what the offense can do, and the numbers back him: the Warriors are allowing 119.4 points per game with a minus-1.8 point differential and a net rating of minus-9.3, which ranks 23rd in the league.

What the Home Stand Actually Tests

Golden State now returns home for a stretch against the Lakers, Clippers, Suns, Heat, Magic, and Pelicans. It's the softest portion of the schedule they'll see for a while — and therefore the clearest read on whether the Denver and Minnesota wins were a turning point or a two-game heater.

Draymond Green is averaging 3.2 points on 38.5 percent shooting with 4.2 turnovers over his last five games, and that's a problem no shootaround fixes. The defense has been leaky all season. And the Minnesota win required a near-historic Curry free-throw night because the offense stalled late.

The Warriors aren't fixed. But a week ago they were winless with the darkest story in the league hanging over them. Now Curry looks ageless, Lendeborg looks like a find, and the front office knows exactly which hole to fill. For a team that started the week in a doom loop, that's meaningful progress.