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NBA FINALS: WARRIORS VS. RAPTORS

June 4, 2019

Stephen Curry

Oakland, California - Practice Day

Q. You referred to the box-and-one that the Raptors threw at you as a janky defense. Steve was wondering what exactly that "janky" is defined as. I think we all are. And what did you think of the fact that they threw it at you, and how did it work?
STEPHEN CURRY: I don't know, that's a little Southern, North Carolina slang that I probably just pulled out of my back pocket. It sounds right. I don't really know what the true definition is.

But, anyway, it was obviously innovative and unexpected in terms of defense you haven't seen in a while. But there are things that we could have done differently to try to create better shots on every possession they threw at us, whether it's me off the ball or with the ball in my hands or working around other guys. But at the end of the day, that fourth quarter was just kind of weird overall with the pace and lack of scoring.

We played amazing defense, and that gave us that cushion to close the game out and sustain that lead, even though we weren't able to create much offense in those last six minutes. But we'll be prepared for what they throw at us going forward in this series. Just got to be able to adapt. That's pretty much what The Finals is about at this stage, where you have to expect to see literally anything and a lot of desperation in certain moments of games when they make those type of calls. So we'll be ready for whatever.

Q. When's the last time you saw a box-and-one in the NBA?
STEPHEN CURRY: I honestly can't remember. Probably last time I saw it was when I had a [Davidson] Wildcat jersey on, though.

Q. How would you regard your role as a leader right now, especially at times when you're playing without KD and Klay? How do you stabilize things or help stabilize things?
STEPHEN CURRY: Nothing changes. Stay consistent with my approach every year, whether it's in training camp or in The Finals, everything in between. Just trying to boost confidence, create the right perspective going into each game.

And we do it by committee. There are a lot of different voices that we have that we rely on. Myself, Draymond, Shaun, Andre. Even K when he's able to provide his input, even when he's injured and going through his rehab and stuff like that. We all just understand the moment and we're very locked in and focused on adapting to the circumstances that are thrown at us right now with a lot of injuries and kind of uncertainty of even who is going to be able to play.

We have been through a lot, had a lot of different experiences. This is just adding to that book. So we have to be ready.

Q. You kind of touched on it with the injuries, but you guys have lost Kevin, Klay's questionable and Andre was going through his stuff. How have you guys been able to overcome these types of injuries throughout the post-season?
STEPHEN CURRY: It's just a continuation of kind of what I talked about after Game 2. It's just everybody being ready. The way that we play, everybody feels involved on both ends of the floor and has an opportunity to impact the game, not necessarily scoring every possession but just playing within the flow and sharing the ball, moving, playing unselfishly. Just a style where everybody is going to get touches and you just have to be confident and aggressive.

So again, day to day it's just whoever is healthy. Be ready to go, compete, have fun doing it. Whoever is out there on the floor, just feel like you can help us win the game. A lot of guys showed that resiliency in Game 2. It's going to have to continue for us to get three more wins.

Q. Andre was saying the other day that one of his sources of motivation was to protect your legacy, and from his perspective he felt like there are peers that are jealous of what you've accomplished. I was wondering what your perspective on that issue is.
STEPHEN CURRY: Honestly, I don't need anybody's validation or praise or them to hype me up as other people in the league know who I am. I always stay confident in my abilities and appreciative of the stage that I get to play on alongside my teammates, especially these last five years.

So whatever comes with that territory, that doesn't really bother me, whether I'm liked or disliked or whether people respect my game or value for what it is. Doesn't really matter. I have great teammates who understand, one, what it takes to win and just the fun that we have playing the way that we do and the experiences that we have been able to create.

At the end of the day, that's all I'll remember when this is all said and done. Andre is the guy that kind of sets the tone when it comes to the overall perspective of what we're doing and protecting the conversation around that. But again, at the end of the day, I love playing for championships and being on this stage and want it to continue for as long as it can.

Q. When DeMarcus went down in Game 2 of the first round, I think there was a thought that maybe he wouldn't be able to come back in the postseason. Obviously he's back now, and given what he was able to give you guys in Game 2 the other night, just what is your feeling about having him back among all the other injuries, and what does he mean to you guys going forward?
STEPHEN CURRY: I'm just happy for him, to be honest. Like you said, there was so much uncertainty around his timeline coming back. For this to be his first Finals experience, you can't be more happy for him to have an opportunity to really impact the series in a positive way for us.

Game 2 was a huge step in the right direction in terms of him being able to play that many minutes and just increase his workload with all he's been through this last, call it, what, 16, 18 months.

So happy to have him back. He's going to be huge for us the rest of the series. And you can tell he's reminding people of how special of a talent he is and how versatile he is and how he's been playing and just getting more comfortable with his body out there. I think it's only going to continue to improve as the series goes on.

Q. DeMarcus out there said he expects to be better still in Game 3. What's your expectation for him? Would you be surprised if you were able to run the offense through him to some degree?
STEPHEN CURRY: That's one of his main talents, being able to play-make, whether it's on the block or out on the perimeter or wherever he catches the ball. I think for him it's just becoming still more confident in his ability to put pressure on defenses on the block and use his size, get some easy buckets down there.

I think defensively he's been amazing. Just trying to be a plug in the paint and even when he needs to come out on the perimeter and rotate and things like that. But again, when you miss that much time and you're playing at the intensity of a Finals game -- I don't think he had any minute restrictions, but it goes from, what, 12 minutes to almost 30 and whatnot. That's a huge jump.

So just assume that his confidence level is going to continue to increase as he gets some more minutes under his belt. That should be a good sign for us as a team.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Steph.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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