"Every shot I take, I think I’m gonna make" – Steph Curry exuberates confidence despite another poor shooting night
Two-time scoring champion Steph Curry is confident despite an ongoing shooting slump. The Golden State Warriors managed to beat the Utah Jazz 94-92 Sunday, even though Curry did not make any buckets in the fourth quarter.
Jordan Poole and Otto Porter Jr. covered up for Curry’s inefficiency from the 3-point line.
Steph Curry: “Every shot I take, I think I’m gonna make.”
Beyond the arc, Curry shot an abysmal 7.7% – making only one of his 13 attempts. In 35 minutes, Curry totaled 13 points, four rebounds and six assists while shooting only 25%. Steph acknowledged the slump in postgame interviews but emphasized the focus on the team’s game plan, saying:
“Teams are probably going to go at me. So, you gotta be able to take those challenges and do other things to help you win. So, that’s again the temptation of getting in your feelings like ‘Oh, I’m missing every shot, I’m just going to worry about that and that alone and not do anything else’ – it’s not what basketball is about.”
Despite poor shooting performances, defenders are not going to leave Curry open. They’re going to try to make the most of his slump, forcing him to take uncomfortable shots. Curry has been able to help his team in other ways, finding open men and just moving the ball around. On questions regarding his shot selection, Curry quickly responded with confidence, saying:
“Every shot I take, I think I’m going to make. Unless it’s way off or there’s something – you’re off balance or whatever it is.”
Steph Curry asked about possible reasons for his shooting slump: “Who gives a damn about excuses?” https://t.co/lL5OIhPmjH
Curry still considers most of those shots to be good shots, having to make minor adjustments to figure out how to convert them. Curry added:
“There’s a surprise when you don’t make it, but again tonight I probably would nitpick only the last three I took. But I took 12 good shots for me. And I’m not, you know, worried about the selection as much as just figuring out, you know, what needs to change in terms of knocking them down.”
Draymond Green has missed the last eight games, with Golden State going 4-4. Their last two wins were each by two points. Regarding Green’s absence and what it meant for the offense, Curry said:
“I think early there’s a couple games where attempts were down just because you’re so used to him being able to see the floor from the top of the key, usually make the right play, his patience to let plays develop and either use me as a decoy or get somebody in a back cut or, you know, throwing an on-time pass – me coming out off of off-ball movements and stuff like that, but we’ve adjusted pretty well.”
Green, nursing a back injury, will be re-evaluated by the end of January. Meanwhile, the Warriors will face the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets in their next three games. Curry will try to contribute to those games in any way possible, but his number of attempts is unlikely to drop.