Stephen Curry broke his own NBA record for three pointers in a game on Monday, knocking down 13 from deep en route to a 122-114 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Perhaps more shocking than Curry breaking the record, was the fact that it took the two-time MVP so long to do so, especially after hitting 402 threes last season, shattering his own previous single-season record by more than 100.
ESPN’s Marc Spears joined Fitz and Brooks on Tuesday, and argued that maybe that fact isn’t all that surprising, however, saying that the Warriors’ struggles this year provided a unique opportunity for Curry to take over.
“I believe he had the ability to do this two years ago. He had the ability to do it last season, but the Warriors were beating up teams so many times,” said Spears. “There were times when Steph was hot, but he sat the fourth quarter or half the fourth quarter because they were up by 20. I think now with the team going through it’s growing pains, that there’s more an ability to get minutes right now, play deep into the fourth quarter and make 13 threes.”
Curry tied the previous record for three’s in a game with 12 last year, and twice hit 11 in a game in 2015 and 2013 respectivly. Spears said that while it’s a great individual accomplishment for Steph to break the record, the fact that he had to do so to edge out maybe the worst team in the NBA at home is not the best sign.
“To me it was not surprising, it’s almost perhaps a little frustrating for Warriors fans that he had the opportunity to do it against the team with the worst record in the NBA when you would hope that they would be up by 20.”
Listen to the full interview below.