Curry's in, Jackson out to Warriors fans

Stephen Curry is the fun, fragile future of the Golden State Warriors, and Stephen Jackson already looks as if he's part of the past.

Funny how that works: Curry gets highlighted precisely at the same time Jackson gets booed.

That is your recent Warriors history/revolving door in a nutshell, right there on strange opening night in a 108-107 loss to the not-good Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena.

So the Warriors aren't very good. OK, we sort of knew that.

But if there was anything else worth concluding from Wednesday's game, it was that Curry is a full and indoctrinated Warrior, in every positive and negative way.

And Jackson is unquestionably on his way out, consistently booed and heckled along the way.

Not that Curry was perfect in his NBA debut. Not close, just like that knuckler the former Davidson star threw up from 16 feet in the second quarter that missed the rim by miles. But the 21-year-old looked poised and snapped sharp passes all over the court, picking up four assists in the Warriors' first nine baskets.

And to the heart of it, all of Curry's major flaws just happen to mirror the Warriors' flaws, too.

He's a bit too small. He got yanked by coach Don Nelson early in the third after missing five of his first six shots and struggling on defense.

He'll be better in a couple of years. He needs a lot of help guarding anybody good.

More than anything, he makes the fans go gaga, though it's unclear if he makes the Warriors significantly better right now.

No wonder Nelson loves Curry so much. He's the crown jewel of the Warriors' Hope Diamonds - Curry, Anthony Randolph and Charlottean Anthony Morrow.

Jackson - who does things like play defense and also complain loudly - is an awkward inconvenience at this point.

Lots of changes. Curry as the new face, switching in for Jackson. Pretty much the same kind of team, however.

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