Steph Curry: “dignity, competitiveness and confidence that you can win any game”

[videos/interviews/transcripts/captions]

“Let’s go back to Dub mentality” — Terrance Anderson, YouTube commenter

It may go against roster-building optionality, but it’s sure hard not to jump on the train of one Wardell Stephen Curry.

“Coach mentioned it this morning. There’s a level of dignity and a level of competition that we can’t run from, the way that we approach things,” said Curry postgame in the locker room at Golden 1 Center…

“We’re gonna approach it the same way: dignity, competitiveness, and, yeah, confidence that you can win any game. That’s just the mentality we have.”

The Warriors started with a rotation that seemed to gel in the third quarter, turning a twelve-point deficit at halftime into a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But Steve Kerr decided to play this one like a preseason game, sending in mostly G League players as the main guys started to hit their minutes restrictions, except keeping Brandin Podziemski and his high motor going, allowing Podz to reach that silly 30-point social media-generated personal goal.

Everything is summarized here, with an edited recap to follow and maybe a bonus highlights video to go over the beauty of the Warriors’ offense when all the pieces are clicking, at least offensively:

Stay tuned by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

“We were not good defensively,” said Kerr. “We had one good stretch in the game, third quarter where I thought we set a tone defensively. Obviously, Draymond (Green) got things stirred up a little bit and we needed that fire, that edge, but that was it. The other three quarters were really poor.”

As I stated in the uncut recap, Gui Santos was particularly bad at point-of-attack defense and there were still mindless turnovers by Curry, Draymond and De’Anthony Melton. There was even a mindless technical, two of them, by Gary Payton II, the second of which had him apparently shooting a ball during a timeout from halfcourt, which led to his ejection because it was his second tech.

“That hurt us and it's just careless,” said Kerr. “We just gotta be solid. That's what I talked to the guys in there about. It's like we're going in to Wednesday's Play-in game without much momentum, without a whole lot of continuity and health and all that. And so we're trying to put it together quickly and we're gonna have to clean up a lot of mistakes between now and then.”

But in terms of the Play-in game on Wednesday, the probable opponent LA Clippers are a slower team than the young run-and-gun Kings, so we’ll see.

Kristaps Porzingis could start getting into rhythm, as after a 4-for-12 night in Sacramento, he is now just 7-for-21 from the field his last two games, and one for his last eleven on threes, since going 5-for-5 against Denver.

Sometimes the best defense is a made basket.

So, going into another preseason-like environment for Game 82 at Intuit Dome, hopefully some of the familiar vets will stop goofing off and KP will make some shots.

It’s actually kinda simple.

Postgame video interviews with captions and transcripts from Sacramento below, including Steph, Steve, Podz and Melt — there’s also one from Moses Moody that I’ll save for its own post:

00:00 How nervous were you initially when it happened?

00:07 STEPH CURRY, POSTGAME GSW-SAC: Oh, as long as it’s not my knee, I can deal with ankles. I’ve been dealing with that forever, so that was the interesting part. My knee felt pretty good, even better than last game, so I’ll take that as a positive.

00:21 How do you feel like you’re, like, where you’re at physically, but also just rhythm on-the-court-wise through the few games?

00:29 Pretty solid. I mean, the first game was pretty loud and I felt great. Last game was kind of a drag. I had a rough first half tonight and then the third quarter, we — I kind of view it more in the how we’re collectively playing because I know I’ll be able to figure out when I can get mine and force the issue, but we had a great third quarter tonight where, besides my dumb turnover on that fast break, we executed, we played with great energy on both ends of the floor and even regardless of the opponent, we put together a good run, so that’s all we’re trying to do is find those bright spots with getting guys back, me doing my part within that.

01:14 How much work do you feel like needs to be done between now and Wednesday to be ready for the Clippers?

01:18 48 great minutes. That’s all we gotta — that’s all we have in front of us. It’s a dumb answer, but it’s literally we’re trying to find all the one-liners to say and all the great narratives to lock in on. It’s weird because you have a lineup that you expect to have nine, 10 guys that are gonna play, but we haven’t really had reps, so I don’t know how else to quantify other than we have one game to find some good patterns, some good chemistry, knowing that the outcome doesn’t really matter. And then you gotta turn around on Wednesday and depending on who we play, probably the Clippers, we’ll see, but know what the challenge is gonna be.

02:05 Do you feel like you found anything with patterns of chemistry tonight?

02:10 Yes and no. I think it was just a collective effort, everybody feeling a little bit of sense of urgency in that third quarter to respond based on a pretty bad first half and we did that. That’s not just gonna be individually. It’s like playing hard, not making dumb turnovers, not giving up offensive rebounds. Offensively, we’re gonna be fine, I think, throughout the course of games, just because we have a threats out there and we can create good shots. It’s just a matter if you’re gonna make them or not, but it’s more just playing solid.

02:47 Do you happen to see Podz get his 30-ball?

02:50 You said what?

02:50 Podz get his 30-ball.

02:51 I told him we were gonna treat him like Devin Booker when he scored 70 in Boston and they lost, give him the sign and all that. I know he’s been searching for it. Everybody knew it, too, so it was fun to see him get it and the way he got it.

03:10 How much do you want to play Sunday, like how many minutes, I should say?

03:14 My normal minutes just because I haven’t done it in two months, so I think that’s the expectation.

03:20 When you say normal, you’re talking like 32 to 34?

03:22 Yeah.

03:23 And then come Play-in game Wednesday, how comfortable are you stretching it to an elimination game style or not?

03:34 I’ll be comfortable with it.

03:36 How comfortable do you expect Rick (Celebrini) to be with you?

03:39 You gotta ask them. Well, not to say we’re not all gonna be on the same page, but I find it hard to believe that the game calls for a couple extra minutes, that will — we won’t make the right decision there.

03:58 Having been at the top of this thing, what’s the motivation for a season at this stage, being in the Play-in?

04:11 I think it’s just removing ourselves from the expectations going into the year because they were way higher and we know that, but for all different circumstances and reasons, we are where we are. Coach mentioned it this morning. There’s a level of dignity and a level of competition that we can’t run from, the way that we approach things. I think I told you earlier, like, the fact that I had a chance to play and the fact that I’m out there, that comes with expectations. Whether you achieve them or not, the energy that you put into it is what makes you who you are. Whether you win, you lose, you chasing championships or not, so until we get bounced from whatever this is, like, we’re gonna approach it the same way: dignity, competitiveness, and, yeah, confidence that you can win any, like, any game. That’s just the mentality we have.

05:19 How many days did you have to pack for?

05:20 Say what?

05:21 How many days did you have to pack for?

05:24 The count was 12, I believe. Five or whatever it is through the Game 2 of the playoffs, there.

05:34 Think you’ll need all those pairs of socks?

05:36 You said what?

05:37 You think you’ll need all those pairs of socks, those 12 outfits?

05:40 I’m so happy that in 17 years, that’s the first time I’ve been asked the question right there. Absolutely. Yes sir.

05:51 Thank you. Thanks, Steph. Appreciate it.

00:00 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME GSW-SAC: Yeah, he’s doing fine.

00:01 Doing fine? What happened? What did you see in the first quarter? Did he roll his ankle or knee?

00:04 It was his ankle. Yeah, it wasn’t his knee, so that’s why I took the time out and I was worried it was his knee. I just saw him limping and he came over and he said, no, I’m fine. It’s just the ankle and I just gotta — I don’t know. He just tweaked it or something, but he’s fine. He’s fine.

00:21 Was the plan not to close with him?

00:23 Yeah.

00:23 Yeah.

00:24 Yeah.

00:25 And then do you know on Sunday, like, if that’s a game that you got, you want to keep seeing them or — ?

00:32 Well, yeah. The plan is to play, yeah, to play Steph and he wants the rhythm and to continue to build his conditioning. And I don’t know exactly how many minutes. The game is probably not gonna matter to the Clippers. Obviously, it doesn’t matter to us in terms of positioning, so we’ll have to — we’ll make sure that health is the number one priority, but rhythm comes after that.

01:03 You’re probably going to play the Clippers in the Play-in.

01:06 Yeah.

01:06 At least that seems like the likeliest option. Does not wanting to show them anything, does that come into play at all?

01:13 Yeah, for sure, for — I’m sure for both teams.

01:18 How would you diagnose some of the issues you guys had defensively tonight?

01:22 We were not good defensively. We had one good stretch in the game, third quarter where we — I thought we set a tone defensively. Obviously, Draymond got things stirred up a little bit and we needed that fire, that edge, but that was it. The other three quarters were really poor.

01:43 Did you see the combinations that you wanted to see tonight?

01:46 Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep.

01:50 What’d you make of Gary’s (two technicals)?

01:57 I didn’t even see what he did, but I — coaches said he took a half court shot after he took the time out. Is that right? And then it went into the stands. Yeah, so obviously can’t do that, you know? That hurt us and it’s just careless. We just gotta be solid. That’s what I talked to the guys in there about. It’s like we’re going in to Wednesday’s Play-in game without much momentum, without a whole lot of continuity and health and all that. And so we’re trying to put it together quickly and we’re gonna have to clean up a lot of mistakes between now and then, but we do have some time. But we have to focus that first.

02:47 First game back with Steph was so electric. Did this feel more, like, more of a continuation from the second, where you said he maybe looked a little rusty? I just think he’s just getting his feet underneath him, you know? It wasn’t his best night, obviously, but just good for him to play and continue to get reps.

03:08 What did you like or not like about Al Horford and Porzingis and their time together? What’d you think about that pairing, how they looked?

03:15 They looked good together. I thought Al looked really good. He prepared really well over the last couple of weeks as he was getting ready for this ramping up, his minutes and scrimmaging and all that stuff, but the two of them, it was good to get them out on the floor together. We know they were good together in Boston. They’re smart players. They can play off of each other. They can both go inside or out on offense. Both protect the rim, so it’s a good pairing.

03:52 You said you don’t feel like there’s much momentum going into the Play-in. Are there things that, are there any, is there anything that you feel like gives you hope for that Play-in game or — ?

03:59 Oh, I’ve got lots of hope. I think we can win two games because I know these guys. I believe in them, but I also know that we’re not where we need to be. We just showed that tonight, so Sunday, I’d like to get more reps, have more focus, fewer mistakes, and we’ll have a couple of days to prepare and get after it.

04:27 Hi Coach, big picture about Gui Santos, what you think, what he’s done right in this season to —

04:32 I’m sorry, I can’t hear you.

04:34 A big picture —

04:35 Big picture?

04:36 About Gui Santos. You think what he’s done right (inaudible) to help him earn this position.

04:45 Yeah, Gui’s had a great year. He’s really taken advantage of the minutes with all the injuries. He’s gotten a lot better. He’s more confident than ever before and he’s, yeah, he’s a very important player for us.

—

05:02 What’d you feel like y’all kind of accomplished today? I mean, we talked about it last night, just the need to get reps with guys. What’d you feel like you kind of, I guess, got accomplished?

05:12 BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI: Yeah, I think started the game, it was just much like feeling out and trying to do different things. And then it was kind of scattered in the second quarter and the third quarter. I think we really, that first group that was out there, really like honed in and got the game back in one, two possessions and we kind of found a rhythm there, so that was good, but we were pretty much scattered the rest of the game.

05:37 What do you make of that third quarter with all the technicals and the back and forth with the Kings and everything?

05:42 I mean, I was just laughing at a lot of it. Pretty funny stuff going out there, but everyone was just kinda having fun with the game.

05:52 Where’d you see the breakdown from?

05:54 I wouldn’t really call them breakdowns. I just, I think I did a good job of taking advantage in transition and then most teams, when Steph’s not out there, just switch everything, so just take advantage of matchups and getting to the rim.

06:11 (Inaudible question about what to practice more before the Play-in.)

06:16 I’m not sure what what Steve’s gonna want, if we’re gonna try to do some things or not because I think we’re gonna play the Clippers probably now, so it’ll be all up in the air of what he wants to do. But for me, when I’m out there, just try to hone in onto details things that we’re gonna have to do on Wednesday.

06:33 Did you learn anything about what worked or what didn’t work with that starting group with Steph and Kristaps and you?

06:39 Yeah I think we just gotta get a little bit more organized. There’s a lot of chaos out there with Steph and I don’t think KP’s quite used to that. Boston’s big on like spacing and spacing the floor and so he comes from a kind of a different system. And so just him being out there with Steph, he’s gonna learn and see things, but you gotta give it time.

07:00 Did you know your point total when you got to the line?

07:02 Everybody did. As soon as I — as soon as I missed the first one, everybody on the bench looked at me and that’s why I smiled a little bit, but yeah, they’ve just been giving me a hard time about it the whole year, yeah.

07:14 How gratifying is that on a personal level?

07:16 I mean, it’s cool. I’m blessed for sure. Last time we were here, I think Will had 30, so it was cool to replicate that. Yeah, it would’ve been bad on both ends, pizza and the account can be activated now.

07:37 You’re one game away from playing all 82.

07:40 Mm-hmm.

07:40 How much pride do you take in that?

07:42 I mean, a lot. I’ve had good vets. Like I mentioned the other day, Loon and Buddy who’ve done it before me, but I think really just after my injuries, I just found a flow on the days in between or back-to-backs that have allowed me to just be ready and be healthy through my injuries. I learned a lot about my body and how it works and by doing that, I’m able to prevent injuries before they occur. And so knock on wood, God willing, be able to play one more game, it’ll be a gratifying 82.

08:17 (Inaudible.)

08:17 Steve came in there and told us that I think the Blazers won, so they’re the 8th seed, unless, I think, they lose to Sacramento on Sunday, so fortunate for us, we’ll be able to spend a couple days in LA and get ready for Wednesday.

08:30 Is it nice to have some clarity (on the Play-in)?

08:32 I think it’s more so for the coaches, yeah. They’ve been game-planning for LA or Portland for a while now, but I think it just helps them have clarity, gives them an extra couple days now to really know who we’re playing.

—

08:43 DE’ANTHONY MELTON: I played all right. I think they came out with force and then they decided that we gonna try to come right at these guys, so you could definitely tell, but you know what I mean? We just getting ready for Wednesday and I think that’s the most important thing.

08:58 What needs to happen between now and Wednesday to get ready?

09:01 Health is wealth, man. Health is wealth. I ain’t even gonna lie. Just get healthy as possible, you know what I mean? Do what we gotta do, recover and just get ready to gear up.

09:12 Steve said he pretty much, it feels like you guys are gonna play the Clippers on Wednesday. Just what do you think about that matchup and how do you feel about playing, staying in LA for possibly five straight days?

09:22 Man, I think that’s good for us no matter who we play, you know what I mean? I think we had to get ready for whoever it was, but at the same time, it’s just not having to travel sometimes and having to travel a short distance. It’s also good, too.

09:43 (Inaudible question.)

09:43 Man, most definitely. Anytime he hit the floor, anytime any of our older guys hit the floor, like, you got a (inaudible) sometimes, so I’m glad to see him that he was able to get up and run around and still finish the game. So, yeah.

09:58 Feel good to do reps?

10:00 Yeah, most definitely. I think having mainly everybody out here, just to be able to get a feel for different lineups, different groups and see where the guys like the ball, too, was important.

10:14 How long can that process take, feeling-out process, figuring out where everybody needs the ball. You guys haven’t played with this exact group, ever.

10:24 Well, it doesn’t really matter because we have Wednesday to figure it out. You know what I mean? So, I mean, we gonna see, we gonna see.

🫶💙💛