Steph Curry is having a down year, but only by Steph Curry standards. His field-goal and three-point shooting percentages are down, and he’s averaging about five points fewer per game this year than during his MVP season a year ago.
But in a wide-ranging interview with Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, Curry finds your critique of his current season laughable.
“I think it’s comical that people were saying I’m having a down year,” Curry said. “To go black and white and say I’m not having as good a season as I was having last year based on just five points a game or shooting percentage or whatnot…there are other things that you try to do other than just the eye test to try and help your team win. This year has taught me that, for sure. The accolades and the attention and all that stuff, the hype is cool. But it’s really how you feel about your own game.
“And I can wake up every day and be like, ‘I know what I’m trying to accomplish; I know I’m going to get better.’ I know when I don’t play well and how mad I get at myself. I know when I do play well and how I want to keep that going. Same approach as I had last year.
“Just five fewer points a game. Who cares?”
Curry isn’t even his team’s leading scorer. He’s averaging 25.2 points per game; Kevin Durant is at 25.3. That’s more reflective of the Warriors’ new mentality one year after they kept the pedal floored during the regular season in an effort to win a record 73 games.
That new mentality has showed up in more balanced numbers and a willingness to not go all-out for regular-season records. The Warriors’ decision to rest key players in what could have been a fun game with the Spurs drew the ire of fans and even NBA commissioner Adam Silver, but Curry feels rest is important for any team gearing up for a championship run.
“It’s an uncomfortable conversation, because as a player, you never think about just taking a day off,” Curry said. “But when you actually are in the position that we are in, you understand how important it is. It’s not just playing a game.
“Waking up after a long stretch of games or a road trip or whatever, waking up and not having to mentally prepare for that 7:30 tipoff is invaluable. Physically, it’s nice to get fresh or stay off your legs. But the mental preparation it takes for us to get ready for a game, it’s taxing. You undervalue that whole 24 hours, just how important that is.”
Curry even praised how commissioner Adam Silver handled the issues compared to his predecessor, David Stern, who believed in harsh fines for resting players during the regular season.
“So for Adam [Silver], he’s running the league and obviously he might think it’s an issue. I don’t think it is. We’ve done it one time this year. Last year we did it one time. We’re talking about one out of 82 games. I don’t think it’s something to worry about.
“Obviously you hate to miss Saturday ABC prime-time games, but hey, that’s just how the schedule fell (at San Antonio). So hopefully we can smarten up about how to schedule it so we don’t have to be put in that position.”
And when it comes to finishing the regular season, Curry feels the Warriors are in a much better place with no pressure to set any regular-season records plaguing the team. Even without Durant, the Warriors are on an 11-game winning streak, and Curry feels the team is playing its best with the postseason right around the corner.
“What we’ve been able to do the last two, three weeks has been a good reminder of exactly what we’re all capable of, and it’s no slight to [Durant]. When he’s back, we’re a much better team. We want him back as soon as possible. But what we’ve done in his absence, and how I’ve tried to help contribute at a high level, speaks for itself, really.”
“This year I feel like we’ll have a lot in the tank going forward to achieving goals we want to down the stretch and in the playoffs. Last year was a little different,” he said. “We had to sprint to the finish line and try to, by any means necessary, catch that 73. And then three days later, refocus to the playoff mindset. I like where we are now.”
The funny thing about the narrative that the Warriors were out of gas last season: they had a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers before blowing it. No one thought they were fatigued heading into Game 5 of that series and no one would have talked about that if Klay Thompson hits one late 3-pointer in Game 7.
One thing is clear if you believe Curry — there won’t be any excuses if the Warriors fall short again this year, because he’s sure the past three weeks show what the team can do when it’s at its best.
