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NBA FINALS: WARRIORS VS. RAPTORSJune 12, 2019Stephen CurryKlay ThompsonOakland, California - Practice Day Q. I would love to hear from both of you guys whether you actually think momentum is real and if so, does it carry over from game to game in your opinion and in your experience? STEPHEN CURRY: It's definitely a real thing. It's just a matter of can you capitalize on it once the next game starts and lock in and focus on details and kind of see the adjustments the other team is going to make, especially in the playoff series because that happens, they watch film, try to tinker a little bit. But momentum and just confidence in terms of what we're trying to accomplish every possession, every quarter, in order to win the game. It's definitely a real thing. Q. What do you expect the emotions will be like tomorrow knowing Kevin's out and it's the final game at Oracle? KLAY THOMPSON: I expect us to obviously come out and play as hard as we can. We're not even thinking about the future. We're just thinking about enjoying this last show at Oracle we're about to give our fans. And I expect our fans to be the loudest they have ever been, especially in the name of Kevin and bringing his type of spirit he would bring to the fight and the competitiveness. I know our fans will do that because we deserve it, but more importantly Kevin does for what he gave this team, this organization. There wouldn't be banners if it wasn't for his presence. So we expect our crowd to be loud for him. Q. What has impressed or blown you away most about Kawhi Leonard? STEPHEN CURRY: He's a gamer. He's shown that. He's a Finals MVP back in the San Antonio Spurs days for a reason. He just makes winning plays. He's obviously expanded his game since then and shown offensively how dynamic he is. He requires attention at all times. So even a really good defense, sometimes he finds away. For us, it's just playing the long game, understanding that he might have great numbers and whatnot, but it's just a matter of can we get the stops that matter and can we win the game any way that it takes. He's just a competitor. We respect that, for sure. He's shown that again this entire playoff run that they have had. Q. Kevin Durant instagrammed that his soul was hurting after the last game. Have you guys had a chance to check in with him? How is he doing, how are you guys doing and how much are you guys going to be playing for him tomorrow? STEPHEN CURRY: This first 24 hours, there's not much you can say in terms of him going through the process, figuring out the extent of the injury and what the road map is going to look like coming back. But I don't think much needs to be said about the motivation that we have or are going to have tomorrow. Like Klay said, to protect our home court, feed off our crowd's energy, play for K and try to keep our season alive. There are a lot of things that you can kind of tap into for energy tomorrow. We'll be ready. Q. For either of you guys, coming out of that timeout in Game 5 you each hit huge shots. It's nothing new for either of you in terms of hitting shots in big moments. Did you feel that coming on? Did you think that you guys were about to do something pretty special? And just in the bigger picture, what's it feel like to be stepping into shots like that, that really matter? KLAY THOMPSON: I don't think we anticipated that to happen. We just kind of go out there and play. We're very in tune with each other being that we've played with each other for years. So when we hit the open man -- Steph doesn't stop moving; that's how he got that curl three. Same with me. Draymond sacrificed his body, set a great screen. So it just comes down to having the chemistry we do with the team and just playing that ball movement type of basketball. Then on the defensive end I think is where we won that game, just Draymond and Andre making huge reads, two all-world defenders. As far as stepping into those shots, we practice those every single day. I know Steph has been doing it for 10 years with this organization, and me eight. So we know what it's like to take those, and we can live with the make or miss. It's just what it comes down to. Q. Obviously Kevin won't play the rest of the series, so that means the death lineup or the Hamptons Five lineup won't be out there. How important of a tool has that been for you guys since he's gotten here? And what do you think will be the lasting legacy of that lineup and the way it changed the way teams play? STEPHEN CURRY: I don't know much about the second part of that question. But just in terms of when we're healthy and we have all those five guys out there, the chemistry is solid because we don't take over each other's spots on the floor. We all bring something different to the table. We work off each other really well. There's a trust factor and just a rhythm to it on both ends of the floor. I think we all just enjoy that pace that we can play with and the speed that we can show. It's just one of those things that when you see those five guys out there, something good is about to happen. And really you don't know where it's going to come from, too. That's the best part about it. We all enjoy each other's successes. Yeah, it's a great lineup, obviously. I don't know the lasting legacy or whatever. Hopefully there's still more of that to come. Q. There's some video online showing your parents getting heckled pretty bad outside the team hotel in Toronto. And in light of what happened with Ayesha, the fan getting arrested for the vulgar comments and some of the aggressive fan behavior, what do you make of what's happened? STEPHEN CURRY: I think in terms of being in The Finals five years in a row and being on this stage, it's hard to avoid those interactions with fans that want to kind of impose their -- or make their imprint on the series somehow, in some way, especially with social media these days. I think it's kind of stupid, to be honest, in terms of people camping outside our hotel just to yell expletives at either us or our family members or whatever the case is. But we handle all that stuff with class and try to ignore it the best we can. And if they get something out of it, so be it. But it doesn't affect us at all in terms of what we're trying to do and how we carry ourselves as a team as players and as people that represent us and our families as well. Q. For both you guys: You're elite athletes and there's a lot of talk right now about who is to blame for what happened to Kevin, if the organization pressured him, if he felt pressured from his teammates. Klay, you've recently been injured. Steph, you've been injured in the past. What's your feeling about that kind of conversation about the blame game? STEPHEN CURRY: Everybody has great 20/20 hindsight. There are 24 hours in a day and there are a lot of different takes you can have on the situation like that. In our cases, and as well as K and knowing him as a person and behind the scenes, we all want to play basketball. If we have an opportunity to play or a chance to play, we want to play. That's just how it is as competitors, and especially at this stage. I trust our medical staff and know Bob Myers has our best interests in terms of not just what we can do in this series, but long term in our overall health. You see how hard he took it, talking to you guys after the game. And that's really genuine and authentic. So you can waste time talking about the what-ifs and this and that. Injuries are tough and they suck. They're a part of our game, and they're going to continue to be a part of our game. But everybody putting their collective brains together to make the sound, smart decisions, you kind of just live with that, because that's what's a part of our game. Q. Klay, you look disgusted. KLAY THOMPSON: Oh, I agree with Steph. Q. For both you guys: The Splash Brothers, is that just a corny nickname or is there something more to that? And also had Kevin kind of achieved full status in that brotherhood or not? KLAY THOMPSON: I guess he didn't win enough Finals MVPs to. So, yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think he is above and beyond a Splash Brother with his ability. Me and Steph, we get as many jump shots as we want. Still can't rise up and shoot over any man on this earth. So I don't think we need to include him in the Splash Brothers to evaluate him on his talent and his skill, because it's pretty obvious to the human eye how good of an athlete, how great of an athlete he is. STEPHEN CURRY: Klay is just stingy. He wants that nickname for ourselves. He's not going to be giving that out to anybody. Q. After Kevin's injury, his mother mentioned the people who questioned him don't know him. He has the heart of a true warrior. In your mind, what kind of person is KD? Why do so many people question him? KLAY THOMPSON: That's just the nature of the game these days. It happens to the greatest athletes to ever play. Every athlete at his level has gone through it, whether it's been Kevin, Muhammad Ali, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, baseball players, Wayne Gretzky. They have all been questioned, especially in this day and age with the media and the 24-hour news cycle. There's going to be talking heads talking about his game and whatnot. That just comes with the territory. But we know who he is. We have won championships with him. I've played in international games with him. I've seen him every day in the gym. You don't need to question someone's heart or desire to play when you see their daily work and their resume. This man has won every accolade there is. So for these people to say that, it's really just irresponsible and stupid because this man has been a basketball prodigy since he was 15, and his skill level is not attained unless you put the work in. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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