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NBA FINALS: CLEVELAND VS GOLDEN STATE

June 8, 2017

Stephen Curry

Cleveland, Ohio: Practice Day

Q. I was curious if you could describe the evolution of the team's ball movement from Steve's first year to where the system is at today, just in terms of the passing.
STEPHEN CURRY: From day one he showed up, that was something that he wanted to implement. Understanding whether it was first quarter, second quarter or crunch time, down the stretch, that that would be the best way for us to create great shots consistently. Use all the different playmakers that we had.

When he took over, he knew how many good passers that we had on our team and guys that really understood that part of the game and how important that was, and just we needed the parameters to kind of work through in that sense.

We always joke, he always used to talk about -- his first year he talked about Atlanta that year with Coach Budenholzer and the whole Spurs kind of legacy of those coaches that go through there and implemented other organizations, they were always in their second year and we could model our ball movement off of what they were doing and there were different layers to their offense that we could get to; that it wasn't always going to happen our first year, stuff like that.

So he talked about it all the time, and it became kind of second nature that that was going to be an important part of our offensive game plan.

Q. It looks easy now. Was it easy transition?
STEPHEN CURRY: No, because it's hard to eliminate some certain bad habits you might have or just standing in one place for too long and in half-court offense and being a lot easier to guard in that sense.

The main goal is to just make the defense make as many decisions as you can so that they're going to mess up at some point with all that ball movement and body movement and whatnot. But it took a while for us to kind of get the understanding of where each other was going to be without having to call a set play or whatnot. So it took a while.

Q. 29 rebounds in three games, 13 last night. Why or where are you fitting in, and why are you getting so many rebounds, and how much do you take pride in the fact that you're a pretty high rebound point guard?
STEPHEN CURRY: I've always taken pride in that because, one, it allows us to get more possessions and I can help my bigs out, rebounding around the elbows and making use of their work, keeping offensive rebounders off the glass.

But the best part about it is when myself or any other guard or wing gets a rebound, you don't need an outlet pass. You can take that rebound and just push in transition, and usually something good happens in those opportunities.

So this series has just been trying to stay active, make good reads on the ball and just try to be in the right place at the right time. And even offensively, like sneaking in for a couple offensive rebounds here and there, if you get the opportunity to, it's just kind of a momentum swing that I think we feed off of in that situation. And it's fun.

Q. How do you maximize your recuperation after the game to be a hundred percent game ready physically and mentally for the next one?
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, everybody has a different kind of routine when it comes to that. I try to stay as active as I can the next day. Keep my body moving. Maybe get some shots up, get a lift in. There's all sorts of treatment philosophies we have with our athletic training staff here. They do a great job of taking care of us and doing the little things that can hopefully make a difference for that next game.

So just try to stay as consistent as possible throughout the year in that category so that all the miles that we put on our bodies, we can bounce back quickly.

Q. So what do you need to do in order to have a long career to take care of your body and of your mind?
STEPHEN CURRY: I think the biggest thing is probably sleep. That's the one kind of underrated aspect of recovery. Obviously you got to eat right, get as much sleep as possible, do the little things in the training room that can take away those bumps and bruises, those aches and pains that are natural with any basketball player. But it just comes with experience of knowing what your body responds best to throughout your career.

Q. Obviously everyone likes to play at home, Steph, but when you're on the road and you see a shot like Kevin Durant that silences 20,000 people or you shoot a 30-foot three to kind of stop a run and quiet the crowd, as an athlete, in those moments, what are you experiencing to do that on the road, to silence a crowd, and pull out a big victory like you did last night?
STEPHEN CURRY: Just confidence. You want to play well no matter what arena you're in. But you obviously understand on the road when the home team makes those runs, it gets crazy loud, like it was last night. There are opportunities for you to just try to keep your composure as the road team. If you have an opportunity to step up and make a big shot, have confidence in it.

That change in atmosphere is really fun as a road team when you're able to kind of get over that hump like we did last night, because it's just you, your 13, 14 teammates, coaching staff. That's all you got in the building, really, and you kind of go against all odds in kind of respect.

Q. And one quick follow-up. After K.D. hit that shot, you had like a really funny reaction to it. Is that just kind of spontaneous when you're on the court like that and just like it just is happening, or it's like, wow, like I can't believe that this is happening? Or is it just really, like I said, spontaneous?
STEPHEN CURRY: It's all spontaneous, yeah. I wish I could have a little bit more control over the reactions in certain situations. I really don't know what I did last night. Like I saw it, no, I saw it, I just -- I don't know what I was doing.

(Laughter.)

I even dropped my mouthpiece because I was so uncoordinated in that sense.

Q. (No microphone)
STEPHEN CURRY: Nah. No Randy Moss. None of that stuff. Just having fun, I guess.

Q. Given Tristan Thompson's importance for the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and what he meant for them in The Finals last year against you guys, how much of a point of emphasis did you put into trying to limit his effectiveness as a team, and what do you think has been so successful for you guys at doing that?
STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, obviously we understand his value when it comes to -- he's killed us on the offensive rebounding category the last two years, and especially in this building, when they get extra possessions based on him just battling for those rebounds, it's tough to kind of overcome.

The biggest thing I think is just from the start of the game Zaza's done a great job of just trying to be physical with him. They have had some tussle matches, some over-the-back calls here, some loose-ball fouls here, like all sorts of stuff going on.

But just a presence knowing that he can't have any straight-line runs to the rim to try to clean up the glass. And just make him think, I guess. That's kind of my best guess at this point just of Zaza just being that force early when he's in the game. And I think we have done a good job of trying to keep him out there whenever Tristan's in the game to keep him off the glass.

Q. I'm wondering if you could shed some insight on the chemistry that has occurred in adding such a dominant player in Kevin to an already buff team that you have here. What is the most significant thing that you've learned about Kevin as a person that kind of speaks to how he's been able to get into a comfort zone and you with him?
STEPHEN CURRY: We talked about it this summer, even going into this year, just when you watch K.D. play and you watch us play, his skill set, we could see, would jell right with what we were talking about earlier -- about just our body movement, ball movement, high-IQ guys that don't really need the ball in their hands that much, just to try to make plays and be efficient in that aspect.

He's a great passer. He obviously demands a lot of attention when he's on the floor. So if he's able to set screens for other guys, he's going to help himself in that situation.

He's obviously unselfish as a person and as a basketball player when it comes to understanding how he can impact the game, every single night, and do it his way. But that would fit right into our style and our identity. It took a while for it to kind of reveal itself consistently as the regular season went on, but once it clicked and the habits started to become second nature, it was kind of beautiful to watch and an amazing kind of style to play and watch unfold. So it's been fun.

Q. Given kind of your nice guy persona off the court, do opposing players challenge you on the court, like the incident with Shumpert last night, and how do you kind of let them know that you're not such a nice guy on the court? And are you a trash talker, or do you only respond to trash talk?
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, I smile and laugh and have fun and play with joy and all that. It's kind of who I am, but yet I have a killer instinct in me. There's a toughness about me that I'm out on the floor, you can't really just try to push me around or try to be physical. That really doesn't get under my skin at all.

Last night, it was much ado about nothing, to be honest with you. It was a situation where you just are talking. And at this point you know that when two guys kind of get into it, chirping around a little bit, there's going to be a reaction out on the floor from refs and from teams and all that kind of stuff.

But I don't trash-talk much. I'm not afraid to talk back if I need to, but I try to stay out of those situations and not get distracted from what I'm trying to get done the floor from an execution standpoint and just doing my thing.

Q. Do you find, though, that opposing players do try to test you because they see the other -- kind of the nice guy persona you've established?
STEPHEN CURRY: I've seen that since I was 9 years old playing AAU basketball, so, yeah. But that probably has helped me kind of understand that expectation and just let it happen and, like I said, if I need to say something, do something, whatever the case may be. But at the end of the day, I'm just trying to play basketball, and that's never changed.

Q. You've been in these situations before, and obviously as a great player big shots are going to come your way, big moments will. It's one thing to take those big shots, but to knock it down on those kinds of stages, especially the way K.D. did and times when you do, what does it take to really come up big in those moments?
STEPHEN CURRY: Just can't be afraid of failure in that sense. Like I'm assuming most guys who don't want to take those shots don't want to deal with the repercussions of if you miss, because that is a terrible feeling. But you can't be afraid of that feeling, knowing that you prepared yourself with all the reps that you put in in the gym shooting.

K.D. mentioned it last night. I love the line that he said, like I've been working on that shot my whole life, which is probably true for 20 other shots on the floor. But literally that's his mindset, like I'm ready to take this shot because I haven't cheated the game. I put the time in every year to get better, to work on your game and to be ready for those kind of moments. And it shows.

The guys that probably work the hardest, that have that killer instinct and that mindset, we don't care if we make or miss. You want to take that shot because you believe in yourself and you'll live with the results. So hopefully it works out more times than not, but that's probably the key -- just not being afraid of failure.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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