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NBA FINALS: WARRIORS VS. RAPTORS

June 6, 2019

Stephen Curry

Oakland, California - Practice Day

Q. Kyle Lowry jumped into the crowd last night, one of the minority owners from the Warriors shoved him. I don't know if you're familiar with the video, but just wondering about your reaction to what happened, how the Warriors are, how the Warriors' image might be affected by the incident and this one minority owner.
STEPHEN CURRY: Obviously it's an unfortunate situation all the way around. Credit Kyle the way he handled it. A lot of different reactions you could have had, but he handled it correctly. I know our team and our organization is addressing the situation and will act accordingly. You don't want to see that in our game and hopefully it doesn't happen.

I don't necessarily think it was a reflection of how we handled business here as a Warriors organization and franchise. We have a high standard and we do things with class and professionalism. And I know Mark is apologetic and whatnot, but we'll handle that situation -- like I said, the organization's going to do that. And just want respect for the game all the way around -- fans, owners, team, players, coaches, everybody -- because there's so much good happening on the court that we want to keep the spotlight on that.

Q. Danny Green, when he gets on rolls, they tend to last for a while, and unfortunately, I guess, for you guys, he's sort of -- he's in a good place right now, a good rhythm right now. What you do you guys have to do better against him?
STEPHEN CURRY: Obviously he made shots and he's been in this stage before back in San Antonio and knows the sense of urgency of the moment and those big spots. Last night he hit a lot of just momentum threes, whether it was end of quarters or us making a run and getting it to seven, six, and him making a shot.

So watching the film there were a couple broken plays that he got a three off of, but early in the first quarter I gave up a three to him or I let him get open for a three in the corner without really making him feel my presence at all. And shots like that for a great shooter just build confidence, and he fed off of that the rest of the game.

So if I'm nitpicking, I'm saying early in the first quarter try to run him off the line, make him think a little bit, maybe that hopefully will carry over the rest of the game. But the exact opposite happened, so our defense as a whole has to be better.

Q. Do you know Mark Stevens?
STEPHEN CURRY: Not personally, no.

Q. And our phones yours too are just blowing up with reaction, very strong reactions to this. What did you make of it? I mean, how do you feel about this, that a minority owner --
STEPHEN CURRY: I just answered it.

Q. Well, no, I mean, but you said it's an unfortunate situation, but, I mean, you personally, like how did you take that in this morning when you were looking at the film and finding out exactly who it was?
STEPHEN CURRY: I didn't see it in realtime, so I didn't know exactly what happened. I saw Kyle's reaction. But obviously when you see the video, it's pretty clear who was in the wrong. And again, we'll -- I know the team is handling it the way that they should in terms of not letting him back in the stadium for The Finals, and then whatever happens after that.

So, again, I just credit Kyle, the way he handled it, because it could have been a lot worse in terms of an altercation that should not have happened in the beginning. So that's kind of who Kyle is in terms of protecting himself but doing it in a graceful way for sure.

Q. So yesterday the audiences were doing everything helping you guys on the floor, and tomorrow might be possibly the second to last game of basketball in this arena. Does that give you extra encouragement?
STEPHEN CURRY: Being down 2-1 gives us all the motivation we need, honestly. There is a bigger story around this building, and it being the last year and what's at stake with that, but it all kind of boils down to us trying to win a championship no matter where we're playing at.

And being down 2-1 we have to come in, feed off our crowd's energy, make the necessary adjustments, especially on the defensive end that we didn't do in Game 3, and allow our crowd to be in it the entire game. That's a great opportunity for us. We have -- I would say the cards are stacked against us in terms of injuries and things like that, but it's a sob story nobody really wants it hear; it's just about can you get the job done, and we got to go do it.

Q. Steve just told us that Kevin wasn't going to play tomorrow. Are you guys at a point where you have to prepare as if he's not coming back in this series?
STEPHEN CURRY: I'm not sure, just knowing he's trying to get back as soon as possible and there's certain checkpoints he has to go through. The way that we have handled it to date is what's the focus today, who is able to play, who is not, and how are we going to go out there and give our best effort.

So knowing he's not playing Game 4, we know what our rotations are going to be, everybody will lock in and go win that game. And then when we get on the plane to go to Toronto, ask the same question. And we hope at some point he will be back, and when he does, like we said, we'll be able to transition our perspective with him available. But until then it's just on a daily, the moment is who is out there, who is ready to play and can we go win.

Q. What do you think you miss most? You miss lots of things without him. What do you think you miss most in this time that you haven't had him?
STEPHEN CURRY: Everything. He's an All-World athlete who makes your team better. So it's a tough blow, but we still have a great opportunity in front of us, and we're going to lay it all out there on the line to try to get it done.

Q. Thinking back to last night and then watching the video today, how much do you think the Raptors defensive focus on you really changed from Games 1 and 2 with Klay being out, of course?
STEPHEN CURRY: There's nothing janky about yesterday, let's put it that way. It was -- I mean, they showed bodies, they threw different guys at me. I was just a little bit more aggressive, trying to look for shots, but I assume there's going to be subtle adjustments, trying to get the ball out of my hands earlier in the possession. But there are things that I can do to counteract that and still make an impact on that end of the floor.

Looking at the film, I would say we created a pretty good offense all the way around, we just missed some shots. And like I said, that happens in the NBA. It's a make-or-miss league, like everybody says.

But I think the composure that we played with and tried to keep things simple -- at times we were a little rushed, but for the most part I liked the way that we played offensively. I don't think that's going to be the issue for us to win. It's all about our defense.

Q. Did it feel at all like they were selling out a little more to get the ball off your hands, or was that not really a feeling as you went through that game?
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, I got up 31 shots, so it was a lot just being aggressive. Again, no matter what defense is thrown at you, there are things that I can do to still again make plays. And at the end of the day I -- some shots you know you can make and live with the results, so no matter what adjustments they make, I still feel confident.

Q. Draymond often after a tough game where he doesn't think he played well or he doesn't think the team played well will take a lot of responsibility for it. He did it again last night. When he does that, do you guys just say, well, that's Draymond being Draymond? Or do you guys get motivation from that, and do you think it helps him for the next game to motivate himself?
STEPHEN CURRY: That's definitely MO of his, but I think honestly any great player who is a great leader and doesn't mind putting himself out there, they're going to, we're all going to say what we could have done better. Even myself last night I'm nitpicking things that -- or possessions that I wanted back or looking for adjustments that I can personally make going into Game 4 knowing I played well but I can play better.

And everybody has that mentality. So he's very consistent in terms of looking in the mirror and saying what, you know -- yeah, when I play well, I know people are going to talk great about me; when I don't, it doesn't waiver his confidence, but he's going to go out and come in the next game and self-correct.

So as a great leader, that's definitely important to have that perspective as opposed to just blaming other people or pointing the finger elsewhere.

Q. And when he does that, do you -- is that a barometer of how he might respond the next game?
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, honestly, I know if he didn't say nothing, I know, just having been around him for the last seven, eight years, that he probably lost some sleep based on our whole team's performance, so -- and just the fact that we lost, like it's not a good feeling for anybody, especially a competitor like that. So whether he vocalizes it or not, I know what his mindset is and would bet on it for Game 4.

Q. With Klay coming back, Steve said he will be back probably tomorrow night. Defensively how much is that a big factor for you guys? And also Steve said he would not have forgiven himself if Klay had further damage to that hamstring by playing last night.
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, that's a tricky situation because it is the Finals and I know Klay was dying and begging to play. And I've been in that situation as well where you feel like you can give the team something, even if it's not a hundred percent, and you're not really thinking about the ramifications of an even more serious injury in that moment because we just want to play.

But that's what a coach's job is, that's what the medical staff's job is, is to make those tough decisions and tough calls and live with them based on all the information present. And they made that decision to sit him. Hopefully he's that much better coming into Game 4, won't have to worry about compensating for his hamstring or anything.

To your question about his defense, I mean, that's -- people fall in love with his shooting and how hot he can get on the offensive end, but the way that our team plays defensively and the chemistry that we have and the experience, he's right at the forefront of that. And it's a tough adjustment when, like I say, guys who haven't been in that position consistently and in these type of moments are thrown into his minutes. So you would love to have him out there on that end of the floor as well, especially with a team like Toronto who can -- who is versatile and can space the floor, but he can guard a lot of different guys, and kind of straight up too. So we would like to have that back, and I know he's going to be ready to play and have a lot of energy out there.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Steph.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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