Preview: Warriors, Clippers battle as Harden is #2 behind Curry in 3s

Back in 2016, Donald Trump became the president of the United States. Also at that time, the Golden State Warriors were on a collision course to the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fast forward 8 years, and whaddya know, Trump has been reelected and the #1 seeds in the Western and Eastern Conference respectively are…the Warriors and the Cavaliers.

Back in 2016, there was also a debate about who was the best guard in the league. Stephen Curry was the reigning MVP, but there were many who thought it could be James Harden. Tonight both men will be in the building as the Dubs take on the Los Angeles Clippers in L.A.

Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers

When: November 18th, 2024 | 7:30 PM PT

TV: NBC Sports Bay Area

Radio: 95.7 The Game

For nearly a decade, the NBA has been graced with two of the most electric offensive forces basketball has ever seen: Curry, the baby-faced assassin from the Bay and Harden, the bearded maestro of Houston (and later a man of many jerseys). Their rivalry, born from playoff clashes and MVP debates, is one for the ages, a showdown between the league’s greatest shooter and a superscorer out of an analytic nerd’s dreams. That is why he’s made the second three-pointers in NBA history!

For the average NBA fan it’s probably like choosing between pizza and tacos—you love them both, but sometimes one just hits better. But for Warriors fans, it’s the difference between basketball greatness and basketball desperation. All that foul baiting Harden did realllllyy pissed Dub Nation off during their contentious playoff battles.

Harden, the wizard of the step-back three, has baffled defenders with his dribbling sorcery and free-throw wizardry. His game has been a masterclass in basketball physics: creating space where none exists, and bending time with deliberate, slow-motion euro steps. When Harden is cooking, defenders aren’t just on skates—they’re at a roller disco with the DJ changing up the tempo in fiendishly confusing ways.

But then there’s Curry whose dominance over Harden has been as undeniable as a prime Warriors third-quarter surge. Curry doesn’t just bend defenses; he incinerates them into dust. When he’s launching from the logo, it feels like the basketball gods have given him straight cheat codes. Harden might shimmy after a step-back, but Steph’s shimmy comes while the ball is still in the air before splashing through the net! That’s why nobody’s made more triples than the Chef!

Curry’s led his Warriors past Harden’s Rockets in multiple playoff heartbreakers—most famously in 2019, when Curry dropped 33 second-half points on Houston without scoring in the first half. It’s not a rivalry if it’s one-sided—but Curry sure has made it feel that way.

They’ve both won MVPs, been to All-Star games, and have played alongside superstar Kevin Durant. Curry’s also done all that, except he’s won championships while doing it.