NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 9, 2022

Stephen Curry

Golden State Warriors

Practice Day

Q. How did the foot feel when you woke up, and how confident are you that you can go on Friday without being limited?

STEPHEN CURRY: I'm going to play. That's all I know right now.

Q. What have the past 12 hours been like for you just in terms of recovery, treatment for your foot?

STEPHEN CURRY: About ten and a half hours of sleep, a couple dunks in the ice bucket and that's about it for now. Then take advantage of today and tomorrow to get completely ready for the game. Get as much recovery and healing as possible and understand how important Game 4 is. I'm excited about the opportunity.

Q. Did you get any imaging? I know you just got over a left foot sprain. Is this a re-aggravation of that of any kind?

STEPHEN CURRY: Because I went through what I went through in the regular season and coming back, I know exactly what it is and what I've got to deal with and the soreness/pain level and all that. So once I got checked out last night, I knew I wouldn't have to go get any extra tests just because we've been through this before.

There's a good understanding of what it is and all that. I guess comfort knowing I've been through it before, but also, you would rather not have to deal with something like that at this point in the season.

Q. How surprising is it to see some drop coverage out there against you? I don't know how often you see that given the shooter you are, and how do you try to respond to some of that coverage? Are you just trying to shoot over it again and again, and did they adjust that all in the fourth?

STEPHEN CURRY: You understand personnel. They have a certain lineup with their length and size that you're not going to really see many blitzes just because I don't think it's physically possible to run around as much as I do and how many screens we can throw at them. So they're doing a pretty solid job for most of the game trying to take away the three, keeping bodies on bodies and stuff like that.

In the fourth quarter, we started the fourth quarter first couple possessions with turnovers and we kind of got sped up a little bit. Then they were pretty smart in terms of who they were trying to come off of and clog driving lanes and send extra bodies and attention that honestly those patterns really don't make sense, but they were just super aggressive across the board.

We got something for that, and obviously, if we take care of the ball and settle in, it can set a totally different tone for the fourth quarter. Then, obviously, offense and defense are connected. You have to get stops in order to maintain momentum down the stretch.

In Game 1 and Game 3, we didn't do that. It showed in terms of only getting, whatever, 16 points or something like that in the fourth quarter. We obviously know we've got to be better.

Q. The first time you sprained the foot, you tried to run, went right back to the locker room, couldn't really play on it. This time you did play a few possessions. How did it feel in those few possessions, and then did that also lead you to believe that it's less serious?

STEPHEN CURRY: Oh, for sure. Like I said, this is almost the identical type play. This one just wasn't as bad as that one. As soon as you started to take a couple of steps, you kind of know whether you can run normal, cut normal or not. Back then, I couldn't. Yesterday, I could. That gave me a little bit of confidence knowing it wasn't as bad.

We'll see how it feels tomorrow. I know I'm going to play, but just see how it responds to that type of impact.

Q. You are the one of the most feared players in the game. What is the key for your consistency?

STEPHEN CURRY: Just confidence in what I can do and how we play as a team and the fact that we've been here plenty of times before. That experience comes with a sense of composure and understanding of how I can be effective. Every night you try to hold yourself to that standard, and hopefully that leads to wins.

Q. Just for context, even though it's a lesser degree than the previous one, if this was a regular season, would you envision yourself sitting out this next game?

STEPHEN CURRY: That's a tough one to answer. I don't know. It would depend on where we were in the season. Context is everything, so I don't know how to answer that.

Q. After the game the other night, Draymond said he played like expletive and then said he was soft. Knowing him, how do you think he will respond tomorrow night, especially after how the crowd was really on him?

STEPHEN CURRY: Same way he kind of did in Game 2. Same emotion, but just focus on impacting the game on both ends of the floor. We've been in hostile environments before. We understand what the emotions are like. You asked about Draymond, but even for me, the first quarter my first foul threw me off a little bit in terms of the tone of the game. I get the second one, and he is aware of that. I'm aware of that. We're all trying to figure out how aggressive, physical you can be. Then you just get distracted, and everything else becomes amplified.

The fact that we clawed our way back in the third quarter, he was a part of that defensively, for sure. All that you have to kind of bottle up and know if we can just execute our game plan, be the most physical team, come with multiple efforts on defense, be decisive on offense and we don't have to reinvent the wheel at all. It's just play better across the board. We all need to do that.

I know Draymond will help lead that charge tomorrow, just like he did in Game 2. We'll get back in the series.

Q. What would you say your level of pain is right now?

STEPHEN CURRY: I don't know how to answer that one, either, because I'm just comparing it to what it was before, and I'm good enough to play.

Q. Off of that, you said that the few possessions that you played after the injury kind of made you realize it wasn't as bad as the first one, but is there any concern about how this might affect your mobility?

STEPHEN CURRY: Nah, even with the last one when I first came back and started testing it out and getting ready to play, it never got worse based on ramping up your intensity and all that. It's just a pain tolerance thing that you've got to deal with. Obviously, at this point in the series, if you are good enough to play, play.

Q. What is it like to be under the injury microscope, and then do you wonder in your career, do you have the most scrutinized ankles, feet, legs in the NBA?

STEPHEN CURRY: I thought I was well past that, for sure, but it's just something that is part of what we do. The only thing is you are quick to be able to self-assess based on whatever the injury felt like.

I think to Anthony's question, when I did it in the regular season, I knew right away that something was severely wrong. Last night I knew I was hurt, but it was not as bad. I could kind of gauge whether I should stay out there or not and not do any more damage. That's why I'm very confident I'm going to play tomorrow and keep it moving.

You become your own doctor to a certain extent based on all the different episodes that you've had. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it is what it is.

Q. Steph, you've been driving a lot.

STEPHEN CURRY: Hold on. My phone is going off. (Laughter.) Repeat what you said.

Q. That caught me off guard. You've been driving quite a bit this series. How important is getting into the paint for you and how you're attacking the defense and the way they're approaching you, and what are some things that they're doing to try to thwart that?

STEPHEN CURRY: Every defense we play usually is trying to take away the three, first and foremost, and that opens up driving lanes. Just the threat of being able to shoot allows you to drive.

They have rim protection when Robert is out there. It's a big part of why their defense is ranked as high as it is and why it's been a difference in a couple of these games, because you know he is back there. You know he is coming. Even if he is not directly in the paint, he is guarding somebody off the ball. He is going to be flying in there.

We have to be able to create those advantages with our drives. Doesn't necessarily mean you're always going to get to the rim and finish, but it's a great way for us to create open looks and just put pressure on them. We have to be decisive with what -- we have to make the right decision once you get in there.

If you do have a clear lane, finish. If you see somebody pulling over or Robert coming and trying to protect the rim, kick it. Find an open man. You can't be stubborn thinking you're just going to keep driving in there and trying to finish over those guys, because that's what they do well.

It's on us to take advantage because we can get in the paint pretty much whenever. It's just, what do you do when you get in there? Certain games we've done it well, and some we haven't.