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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO: SPURS v WARRIORSMay 16, 2013Stephen CurryOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game Six SPURS – 94 THE MODERATOR: Questions for Steph Curry. Q. Steph, can you talk about the emotions you're feeling right now. Obviously disappointment, but also the accomplishment you've gotten this far. STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, it's hard to mellow out that quick when you're still in game mode. We fought to the finish against a great Spurs team that we knew was going to be a tough task coming into the series. Just the plays they made down the stretch, the big threes they hit, they deserved to win obviously. You congratulate them. It will take a minute to realize the accomplishments we have made, for a Warriors team to be in this position, it's a good thing, and we can build on this for next year. We got three and a half months to sit on it and think back and learn from everything, the good and the bad, this year. Whoever is in that Warriors locker room next year will be ready to go. Q. Steph, did it surprise you going through not just this round, but the first round and the second round just how difficult and how much of a grind it was? Was it more or less than you expected? STEPHEN CURRY: It was exactly what you expect. But you got to go through it. Especially when you have injuries you're dealing with, you play a team like the Spurs, how much attention to detail, how much focus, mental toughness it takes, physical toughness, it takes to grind out these series. You hear from coaches and legends that have gone through it before, they try to school you on what it's going to be like. You have some sort of expectation. But to go through it, it's fun. I know we enjoy the process. Just itching already to get back to this level because you know you're capable of doing it and hopefully go further. Q. Can you give us some general impressions or memories you have of the crazy crowd here over the last three, four weeks? What are you going to remember about this first significant run in the playoffs in the NBA? STEPHEN CURRY: They've been great all year. When you get to a playoff series, the anticipation that everybody is feeling, especially since it's our first time since '07, I know there's a lot of built‑up energy to unleash. Seeing those yellow shirts, chanting 20 minutes before tip‑off, pretty much everybody standing up the whole game, it's different, it's fun. Q. You feel bad when you miss a three because everybody is so ready for it. STEPHEN CURRY: As a shooter, you enjoy that, for sure. You feel like you want to keep taking them because you can get that crowd going crazy. Even when the ball is in the air, it's kind of a cool sensation. You can feel it in the crowd. But hopefully we made them proud and gave them something to look forward to next year so that we can get back to this stage and, you know, feed off their energy again. Q. Can you talk about how you got this far with a lot of injuries? What got you to this point? STEPHEN CURRY: It was a commitment from day one that whatever situation we were going to go through, whoever was suiting up was going to be ready to play. Started with Coach Jackson all the way down. We bought in from day one. To do what we did this year with three rookies in the rotation playing heavy minutes, with Bogut missing however many games he missed early in the season, dealing with ankle trouble pretty much all year, my ankle troubles, D Lee's. Every team will go through that, but you have to be happy about how far we went and how hard we fought to keep this thing going. Toughness in our locker room, we've kind of set a precedent, and hopefully that will continue over the summer with our preparation for next year. Q. You averaged 26 points per game after the All‑Star break, took more threes. Has this season made you kind of think that you're capable of more than in other seasons? Do you have new expectations for yourself? STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, because I'm healthy somewhat right now. I mean, I played the most games I've played in my career in this season, including the playoffs. I think I've kind of given myself an idea of what I'm capable of as a player when I'm healthy. Hopefully ankle troubles are completely behind me and I can continue to work. This will be the first summer I'll be able to work on my game since my rookie year, so I'm excited about that. Possibilities of adding things to my skill set. Hopefully become a better player next year. To have gone this far, to be a part of this team, it only gives me that much more excitement. Q. No surgery on the left ankle? STEPHEN CURRY: No. We'll get it checked out and make sure everything is fine. As it feels right now, I should be fine and be able to get some good treatment over the next three and a half months and be ready to go come October. Q. How long will it be before you get back in the gym? STEPHEN CURRY: I don't know. I obviously got to think about longevity, make sure I'm 100% before I attack. Probably two weeks, three weeks maybe. Give yourself time to cool down. It's going to be hard to watch the playoffs now. But I enjoy basketball. Get right back into it. Like I said, I have to take advantage of this time that I have that I haven't had the last two summers. Won't take too much time off. Q. Steph, you just said you wish to add things to your skill set this off‑season. What things in particular do you wish to add? STEPHEN CURRY: Get stronger, get quicker. Hopefully that will allow me to get to the free‑throw line a little more. Just continue to study the game, be able to take those lessons I'm learning while watching film, apply it to my workouts. You can visualize what you need to do. If you can't spend that quality time on the court, you can only go so far. Becoming a better point guard every single year, get to the free‑throw line hopefully a little bit more next year, that will be good enough. Q. Does that mean you're going to flop better next year? STEPHEN CURRY: I'll learn something. I'll study the greats that have gotten to the free‑throw line very often and see what they're doing that I'm not (smiling). Q. What was it like for you to go up against Tony Parker in the playoffs? STEPHEN CURRY: It's great, man. He's a heck of a player. Tonight was like a microcosm of what he is as a player. He was shooting the ball terribly the whole game, but he was still making plays, drawing defenders. Then hits two big shots down the stretch. Gets them over the hump. He's a championship point guard, future Hall of Famer. To go against him, it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot. It was a fun battle. When it gets to the level that he's on, how consistent he's been over the course of his career, I'm looking forward to the future. Q. You were right there when Barnes went down. What did you see? STEPHEN CURRY: He was alert. He was fine. He was hurting, obviously landing on his head. I didn't realize at first that he hit his head. He went to grab his knee at first. I think he banged that, too. He had a little cut on his eye. Wanted to make sure he was all right. Everybody told him to stay down and take his time. He was alert and fine. He tried to play again in the third quarter. That toughness in our locker room. Hopefully he'll be fine tonight and going forward. Q. Your brother is at the combine right now and go through the process. How excited are you to see that? STEPHEN CURRY: It's going to be fun. We've been talking about this for a while, since his last senior season. For him to go through the processes that I've been through, the unknown of what's going to happen in the draft, the workouts, he'll be in training camp. It's going to be fun to follow him, encourage him, keep him going. Hopefully he'll snag a spot on the roster and finds his way. If he gets an opportunity, he's definitely going to show how great of a player he is. He's got a great work ethic. Looking forward to what he can offer at the NBA level. Q. Steph, I want to know with your playing this post‑season that it sends a message now, does it make it easier for you to be nominated to the All‑Star ballot next season? STEPHEN CURRY: I'm not worried about that right now. Hopefully I'll be in that conversation again next year. With the way I played this season, it's setting a foundation for me. If I'm healthy going forward, people notice. My team will be winning, which is the most important thing. So that will happen when it's supposed to happen. I'm very motivated to get back and continue this momentum that I was able to build this season with my teammates. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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