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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO: GRIZZLIES v WARRIORSMay 3, 2015Stephen CurryOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game One Warriors – 101 Q. We were asking you guys for more than a week if the rest was enough. How did you think the sharpness and energy level was for you guys? STEPH CURRY: I thought the energy level was great. We were well rested obviously, but I think our conditioning and just the physicality going into the game was nice. We were a little sloppy, a little loose with the ball and our timing was a little bit off, but defensively that's where you kind of determine how the rest affected our game, because if we're out there a step slow on the defensive end and giving up easy buckets and all that, then that's where it might have slowed us down. But I think we played extremely aggressive, extremely hard in the first half, and take that right where we left off, and I think now we've got the cobwebs in our offensive game, we should be able to build some momentum. Q. Not that it's easy, of course, but what was the difference with not having Conley out there providing the defense that he normally would for the Grizzlies? STEPH CURRY: Well, there's no secret he makes their team better. They were probably looking for a long player without him in the lineup who will probably play at some point so I'm out there shooting before the game. But the way that they play is pretty similar. They work through their bigs, they cut and move off the ball, and you've always got to be alert. Obviously defensively he's top‑‑ up there defensively for PG, so he'll provide definitely a punch for them. If we continue to do what we do, do what we did tonight on our defensive end, I think we'll be fine regardless of who suits up for them and have that confidence, whenever he does come back. Q. You can pick up every game and look at it and pick it apart, but what do you learn from Game 1? You win pretty big, but I think there were nine turnovers in the first half. They got 15 points off of those. What do you pick apart from this game and say here's what we know we can be better at and be even better for the next game? STEPH CURRY: I mean, basically just what you said. We had nine turnovers and we could have had probably 12 or 13. There was a couple loose balls that we were lucky to kind of recover and still have a shot at the rim at the end of that possession. The number could have been a lot higher. We didn't get great quality shots in the second half, so we've got to move the ball a little bit better. But today just tells us obviously we're in good physical shape. We're ready to keep this push going. They're obviously a good team, and we can't let our guard down regardless of what the score was today. But if we continue to defend like we did, be physical, rebound the basketball, we'll be in good shape and look forward to Game 2. Q. Do you feel like this team is taking something from the first round and improved into the second round? Do you feel like this team is getting better through these playoff games? STEPH CURRY: I thought we were a lot less anxious and kind of jittery to open up the series. That first game against New Orleans, it was so much emotion and kind of just Playoffs are finally here, and tonight obviously we had a week off, so everybody was looking forward to getting back on the floor and playing. But my sense of just how our team was feeling going into the game was‑‑ we were pretty comfortable and pretty composed and just ready for the moment and didn't try to do too much and win the game in the first three minutes like we did pretty much every game in the last series. I think we're kind of maturing in that sense and getting better every game. Q. You found Draymond for an open three early on, and he was pretty hot for a while there. How does that change things for you when he's shooting like that from the outside? STEPH CURRY: We like to do a lot of pick‑and‑rolls, and if I can draw a couple defenders and he spaces the floor and you get the ball to him and he knocks down a couple shots, they have to obviously adjust and honor that shot. We're going to keep running that play, so in that sense he can continue to get his looks, or if we have to rotate from the backside and somebody pulls over and defends him, he can swing it and we can get another look for somebody else on the weak side. We've been doing it all year. When he makes shots especially early in the game it's huge for us to get emotions going. Obviously everybody was pumped up, and the ball starts to move and starts to hop, and that's a good look for us. He has obviously a lot of confidence to take those shots, especially when bigs in the pick‑and‑roll try to over‑pressure me and I can get the ball back to him. Q. Obviously it's still early here in the second round, but when you look at the rest of the NBA Playoffs, is it natural to start looking at the ultimate goal and what can happen? Do you start to develop that vision of winning a championship? STEPH CURRY: There's a lot of question marks. Obviously you look around the brackets and down to four teams in the West, and that's the challenge. It's not to get too far ahead of yourself. There's a great team in front of us in the Memphis Grizzlies that we have to take care of right now. Obviously we know which two teams we'll play if we win this series, but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. It's a fun time. The pressure is on. The vibe around the league is at a high, and I think we're ready for the moment, just trying to stay in the moment. That's the biggest thing for us. Q. It looked like Memphis was playing different guys on you and they were switching it up. How does changing the defender on you affect the way that you think about a possession? STEPH CURRY: Obviously there's a guy that has more length, you have a tendency to try to want to get by him, get into the paint, and it's obviously less likely shooting over somebody with a lot of length. But our play calls and stuff are pretty much the same. We're going to run pick‑and‑roll, we're going to run our normal motion offense and get the ball moving. It doesn't really matter who's guarding me in that sense because we're going to do what we do, but if it's a one‑on‑one situation, that's where the kind of different angles may come in, and if there's a smaller guy, you want to try to just get a little bit of space and shoot over him and what have you. Those are only the real decisions at that point. We stick to our offense. When we're playing well, we do what we do regardless of what lineup is across from us. Q. Were you surprised to see Tony Allen emerge as the villain of this game, and what was your reaction to the booing? STEPH CURRY: I was sitting on the scorer's table when the Jr. Jam Squad was dancing, and they were killing the MC Hammer rendition, and I saw him walk out and was kind of‑‑ it was like slo‑mo because I don't think he realized where he was walking. He was kind of just locked in the moment, and they were still dancing, and our fans obviously were protecting the Warriors' ground in all sorts of ways. It was pretty funny to see that happen. Obviously they booed him the rest of the game. Just a little fun there. I don't think it messed up their choreography, either. They really killed that dance. Q. There's an award that may or may not be announced tomorrow. Are you thinking about it? Is it bad luck to even think about it? Are you expecting it? What's your mindset about the MVP coming up? STEPH CURRY: I honestly have no idea. It's obviously just‑‑ in the middle of a playoff series, it's hard to kind of separate yourself with other things that may or may not happen. Obviously I know what the situation is, and just trying to focus on the game, and if I get a call tomorrow, I'll definitely be happy, and there will be a lot of people that can be proud of that moment, as well, and we'll enjoy it. But right now I'm happy we won Game 1. I'll wake up tomorrow a fresh new day, and we'll see what happens. Q. You didn't seem to be looking for your shot, at least early like you did against New Orleans. Did you get a sense that the other guys were clicking and your supporting cast was with you today, so to speak? STEPH CURRY: Yeah, I think obviously Draymond hit some shots early in the first quarter where we were talking about the pick‑and‑roll, and he was finding his space and getting open looks from three, and in transition they were really loading towards the ball‑handler's side and those guys were bringing the ball down the floor, and when that happens if you can just get into the paint and find a way to kick it out, good things happen. Every game is going to take a different kind of shape. That's the beauty of the Playoffs. So if we can adjust and still stay aggressive, even if I'm not shooting five, six times a quarter, it's more just looking for the best shot every possession, and we'll get there like we showed in the first quarter tonight and then on down. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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