HOUSTON -- After closing 2017 by allowing 128 points to the Grizzlies, the Warriors opened 2018 by giving up 122 points to the Mavericks. It's enough to send a chill through the bones of assistant coach Ron Adams, who specializes in defense.
But how does Adams or anyone else affiliated with the Warriors not experience a layer of warmth at the reality-defying offensive presence of Stephen Curry?
Never in the history of the NBA has there been a more effective deodorant for stinky defense than Curry in a zone.
The Warriors had a 120-110 lead over Dallas with less than three minutes left and the Mavericks wiped it out with a 10-0 run, tying it 120-120 with 39.9 seconds left.
Curry, benefitting from a Draymond Green screen, was there to make the game-winning shot, a 28-footer with 3.4 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a 125-122 victory Wednesday night in Dallas.
"They made huge shots all night and you have to give them credit," Kevin Durant told reporters in Dallas. "But we have the best shooter that ever played. And he came off a pick-and-roll wide open. I knew it was going down so I just let it roll."
Just like that, the pungent scent of rotten defense was gone.
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But not forgotten.
Memphis and Dallas both rank in the bottom five in scoring output. They each lit up a team that has Green, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and a leading candidate for the award this season in Kevin Durant.
The Warriors, behind Curry, won both games.
After the Grizzlies shot 52.1 percent overall and an astonishing 71.4 percent from deep last Saturday, the Mavericks on Wednesday shot 47.8 percent and 44.2 from beyond the arc.
Nope. Sorry. Not enough because Curry is in a zone.
This is not, however, a method the Warriors want to test Thursday night when they invade Toyota Center to face the Rockets.
"Most of the mistakes came on the defensive end," coach Steve Kerr said. "(The Mavericks) made like 19 threes. We've been the best team defending the 3-point line the last several years, and we're not anymore. We're maybe 10th or 11th (actually 12th), so it's an area of major concern.
"We're going to play a team (Thursday) that's maybe going to shoot 60 of them, so we've got to clean that up."
The Rockets were plenty potent last season, but during the offseason they added defense to the equation, moving up from 18th in defensive rating to 10th.
Yet it's their offense, even without James Harden, that poses the biggest threat to the Warriors or any other opponent. The Rockets are averaging 43.3 3-pointers per game, with 36.5-percent accuracy. They use triples to build leads or wipe out deficits. Combined with their improved defense, it makes them dangerous.
The Warriors have first-hand knowledge of that. In the season-opener at Oracle Arena, they entered the fourth quarter with a 101-88 lead over Houston only to be overtaken and slapped with a 122-121 loss.
The Curry on the court now, though, is not the same player who on opening night scored 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting (3-of-9 beyond the arc) in 30 minutes.
In the two games since he returned to the lineup after missing 11 games, Curry has scored 38 and 32 points, shooting 66.7 percent (24-of-36) overall and 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from deep.
Curry single-handedly ensured Memphis, no matter how hot, was not going to win in Oakland. He also torched the Mavericks early, with 15 first-quarter points, before crushing their hopes after such a spirited late comeback.
"I liked Steph's 3 at the end," Kerr said. "The previous five, six, seven, eight plays were an utter disaster, completely mindless basketball. They made some big shots, but we were handing them the ball on a silver platter. But we made the big shot at the end. Steph made the big shot, Draymond set a great screen and we escaped. But it shouldn't have been that hard.
"It was like grade school stuff the last few minutes. It really was. But . . . Steph made the huge shot. Draymond set the huge screen and we were able to come away with it."
That's the power of Curry in a zone.
Yet the Warriors surely realize that even with Curry cleaning up messes -- and occasionally creating them -- defense must be their foundation. His magnificence sent the Warriors past Memphis and Dallas. It's risky to expect that in Houston.
