The Golden State Warriors have had a bit of a roller-coaster season thus far. Recently speaking to The Athletic, Steve Kerr talked about the kind of challenges Stephen Curry, in particular, has had to traverse past to help the team churn out victories. With Draymond Green suspended indefinitely, Kerr believes that the Warriors’ messiah has had to literally carry the team, since. This has even led to a change in Curry’s pre-game routine, according to The Athletic.
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The Warriors head coach also claimed that Curry has been emotionally exhausted due to the news surrounding Green. “Steph’s been through a lot the last few days with the Draymond [Green] news. He’s had to carry this team, let’s be honest, through the first quarter of the season,” he said, before claiming that the Warriors had initially struggled to click as a unit.
However, things changed after they found their best lineups. The process has obviously been derailed by the loss of Draymond Green, which has led to a lot of toll on their biggest superstar.
“We just haven’t been able to build momentum and find lineups that are clicking. He’s carried us. Then the Draymond news. I think he was emotionally spent the last few days, frankly,” Kerr revealed.
Regardless, the change in Curry’s pre-game routine means that he arrived from shooting practice hours before their recent victory against the Brooklyn Nets. Instead of generally making his appearance around 75 minutes before every game, Curry seems to have taken over himself in order to come to games fully attuned.
The player was said to have arrived early simply because he wanted to get some extra shooting practice before the arena was taken over by fans and the media. While the player did not confirm the same, he did claim that he wanted to be better prepared.
Steph Curry out way earlier than normal for his pregame shooting routine tonight. Still about two hours to tip. Empty arena. pic.twitter.com/Ef69d18dkt
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 16, 2023
“Y’all don’t miss anything. Just wanted to change it up a little to get the mind and body a little prepared to play,” Curry said, before confirming that the quietness of the environment was why he had chosen to arrive more than two hours before the tip-off.
Hence, as the Warriors continue to deal with the situation of Draymond Green, Curry seems determined to help his team churn out victories in the meantime.
Stephen Curry is producing similar numbers to last season
The Golden State Warriors finished 6th in the Western Conference last season and lost their way at the Conference Semifinal stage. Curry was in dominant form throughout the regular season, producing 29.4 points, 6.3 assists and 6.1 rebounds.
This time around, the 35-year-old is again producing similar numbers. Through the 23 games thus far, he has averaged 29 points, 4.09 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. The slight dropoff is more of a reflection of the overall team, rather than Curry’s own performances.
This has not resulted in similar results, as the Warriors have struggled to churn out victories and are currently 11th in the Conference, with an 11-14 record.
While Curry’s 37-point performance resulted in a win, it was only their first in four games, snapping a 3-game winning streak. With Green out for at least 5 more games, the Warriors can be expected to continue their struggle in the coming time, albeit with some massive displays from the ‘small’, big man himself.
