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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 18, 2018

Stephen Curry

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. Steve [Kerr] said when he looks at your game right now, he sees a player trying to find his rhythm after coming back from a long injury. How do you feel like you're finding your rhythm right now?
STEPHEN CURRY: That's pretty accurate. But there is a sense of urgency right now. We've got to get all hands on deck, playing at a high level to get out of this series, so I've got to do my part for sure.

Q. Simply put, how are you feeling right now physically?
STEPHEN CURRY: Great. Hopefully that's the last injury question.

Q. Steve was saying how much harder it is to come back from a long layoff right into the playoffs rather than easing into the regular season. Do you think that's accurate?
STEPHEN CURRY: I don't know. This is my first time going through that experience. Just waking up every day with optimism and confidence in myself and where I'm at. That's all I can really kind of speak on. There isn't time when you kind of coast or ease your way into it, especially with the intensity and pressure and all that stuff. So you've got to be ready.

Q. Kevin [Durant] says the last thing I ever worry about is Steph Curry's shooting because he's the best shooter in the world. Do you ever worry about Steph Curry's shooting?
STEPHEN CURRY: No. That's why I've gone 0-for-11 before shooting threes or 1-for-8, whatever the case is. You always shoot the next shot with the optimism and confidence that it's going in. So you can work on stuff in between practices and games, get your rhythm, you're seeing the ball go in, work on your mechanics, but never lose confidence in myself ever. That will never change.

Q. On defending James Harden and trying to avoid fouls.
STEPHEN CURRY: It's tempting, but we know the MO on that. So we've got to resist the urge, play solid defense without fouling, show our hands. Understand the percentage chance you're going to get a steal in that situation or a clean swipe or whatever is pretty slim. Over the course of 48 minutes that's two more points for him and slows the pace down and everything, so you've got to resist the urge as much as you can.

Q. In this time of the season when shots aren't falling that you have to have amnesia about it. Do you have that too or is it a mix of analyzing?
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, I think about the shots that I missed, might look at film to see if something was off mechanically or whatever, but I don't lose any sleep over it. You come in today, you work on your game, as every professional does, put the time in to get yourself where you need to be. Just being comfortable and hopefully that will lead to success the next game.

Q. In a practice like this especially after you haven't shot the ball well, do you shoot more?
STEPHEN CURRY: No, I have pretty set routines, so it just depends on how I'm feeling or what the Sensei Q [Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser] says I should do. I just made that name up for him. I'm going with it.

Q. Is it a matter of you hit one or two in a game and your rhythm is right there?
STEPHEN CURRY: I only need one. That's all I need.

Q. But then you're back in the flow?
STEPHEN CURRY: Actually I might not hit any, because hopefully that first one I shoot in Game 3 goes in. But I have confidence in myself and teammates have confidence in me to do what I need to do. So never, never worry about it because I know how hard I work at it. It's not a false sense of confidence. I know how hard I work at what I do.

Q. Do you love the fact that everybody's asking you so many questions about this? Can you just not wait to like show everybody that it's not an issue at all?
STEPHEN CURRY: It's something to talk about. We obviously lost so you can try to pinpoint stuff and the reasons. Obviously, I didn't have to talk to any of you all to wake up and know I didn't play well in Game 2. That doesn't change my outlook on the series or what I need to do.

If I don't shoot the ball -- I'm going to, but if I don't shoot the ball well in Game 3, it won't change a thing about how I approach the next one. You know, you come to the game with the right intentions, the right approach. More times than not it will work out in your favor.

Q. What about defensively before the series you said you expect them to come at you every time and they have. Not with that much success in Game 1, but with more success in Game 2. What do you expect going forward and how have you evolved and improved in the last couple years defensively?
STEPHEN CURRY: It's going to stay the same. It's going to be a situation where you've got to get stops and take on that challenge. I think Game 2 I was a little in between, indecisive. I wasn't as aggressive on that end as I was in Game 1 for whatever reason. Again, whether they get a bucket or not, my job is to make it tough on them, and I did that really well Game 1. Game 2 I had some -- watching the film I had plays where I was in between whether to switch, whether not to, which way to send the guy. You've just got to have a little bit more assuredness of what you're doing on the defensive end knowing you know you've got guys behind you ready to rotate. We've all got to be on the same page, and I think that's what the difference between Game 1 and Game 2 was.

Q. Steve said he's been really pleased by the way you've been playing defense. He said it's something you worked on from the second you got here. How do you think you've been doing in that aspect, and how do you think you've improved over the years on that?
STEPHEN CURRY: I understood what it took for me to elevate that part of my game to a level that we can win a championship with. Obviously, I know what my strengths are in this league, and that is to score the ball and be a playmaker. Defensively I have some skill sets that I can rely on. It's a sense of anticipation, trying to be in the right place at the right time, quick hands. You know, being able to stay in front of the ball. I'm not going to block shots. I'm not going to be that type of guy, but you've got to figure out a way to have an impact. Every year I found a little bit more confidence in that standpoint.

Q. How much do you think your size is an obstacle defensively? I mean, you've obviously overcome that in spades on offense. Does that come into play more on defense?
STEPHEN CURRY: To a certain extent. I can still -- guys can -- whether I'm 6-3, whether you're 6-7, they'll probably have a little more chance to contest most shots and get in the way. But for the most part I don't think it's too much of a deficiency in that sense.

Just got to overcompensate a little bit with me getting stronger as I've been in the league, being able to stand people up and whatnot, and just continue to be smarter on that end of the floor so that you can anticipate where you need to be and you're not playing catch up. That's the biggest thing.

Q. On his health.
STEPHEN CURRY: I'm feeling pretty good. I mean, off the top of my head I can't remember how many minutes I played in Game 1 or Game 2, but I felt fresh out there. Felt like I never needed to look at Coach, like, Hey, get me out, I'm tired. So that's a positive.

The intensity of how I'm playing, I'm able to sustain that, and that's all I could ask for in that department. Now you've just got to put together the total package. I think I'm really close to that.

Q. Steve just said Steph and Oracle are a good mix. Do you feel different when you're back home?
STEPHEN CURRY: The Warriors at Oracle are a different story for sure.

Q. He said specifically about you.
STEPHEN CURRY: We all love playing in front of our home crowd. If you had a choice of where you want to play, obviously, you'd choose Oracle every day of the week. But we've always talked about even when we start a series out at home, we start off well, go on the road, you may split, whatever. You come home for that Game 5, and it's not just showing up at home means you're going to walk into a win. You have to have the right execution, the right mindset going in to allow the crowd to be into it, to allow the fireworks to start and allow that advantage to show up.

That's what we want to control the most with our preparation for Sunday, and then everything should happen the way it's supposed to with our crowd getting into it, our flow, our rhythm, Warrior basketball showing up and having a good 48-minute night.

Q. Chris Paul was asked about today's school shooting just outside of Houston saying that playoffs come secondary. Is that something you agree with, and what message do you send to Houston?
STEPHEN CURRY: Obviously you send your thoughts and prayers. It's a tragic situation that hurts your heart when you think about kids going to school and being safe. Obviously glad that CP said something about it. It is an issue that is way bigger than basketball, way more important than basketball and something that needs to be addressed, and hopefully that happens. Feel like a broken tape recorder every time you see a situation like this happen, that needs to be addressed for sure.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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