NBA games of the week: Season starts now

Monday, Dec. 25: Cleveland at Golden State, 3:00 p.m. ET

Two things can be true: The Warriors are really good without Stephen Curry, and Stephen Curry is really important to the Warriors.

The defending champs are 7-1 while Curry heals up from an ankle injury. They’re second in net rating and their defense hasn’t slipped. Really, they haven’t slipped much offensively either, but they haven’t looked the same since Curry has been out. They’re not as crisp and they’re lacking the penetration and spacing a two-time MVP and best shooter of all time brings. Their offensive rating is down seven points to 105.4 points per 100 possessions, something 18 teams would beg for over a full season. They’re 12th in effective field goal percentage and ninth in true shooting, stats they are first in over the entire season. Coach Steve Kerr said the team is missing the extra precision and things that make a Curry offense one of the best in league history.

That’s not to say that won’t be favored against the Cavaliers, LeBron freakishness or not. The Cavs have stabilized, and the performance of their bench has allowed LeBron to rest longer than two minutes at a time. They’re still old and their defense is still awful, but the resurgence of their offense has been a great counterbalance. Isaiah Thomas is getting closer to returning, which should supercharge the offense more, while still hurting their defense. I guess it’s like the old saying, “Why play defense when you can try and score 130 points?”