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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 7, 2016

Stephen Curry

Cleveland, Ohio: Practice Day

Q. Can you take us through the process of your decision to pull out of the Olympics, and did the Zika virus play a factor in it?
STEPHEN CURRY: I followed the reports and kind of got educated on that, but at the end of the day that didn't have a bearing on my decision. It was assessing my body and knowing, one, what it was going to take for me to finish this playoff run and considering the injuries I've had in the last few weeks in the Playoffs, and the short timeframe in between The Finals and Team USA training camp and then the timeframe after that for me personally was going to be a lot to get my body ready for another year coming up. So that was my decision.

I knew, obviously, the developments and kind of understanding the problem with the Zika virus, but it had no bearing on my decision.

Q. You guys are having troubles with Game 3 it seems. I think you're 2-5 in Game 3s under Steve, and lost all three Game 3s so far this postseason. Can you pinpoint what's going on when you guys go on the road for that first game?
STEPHEN CURRY: The thing about this playoff series, the Houston series I didn't play, and we still had a legit chance in the last two minutes to get that job done. So that was kind of just a missed opportunity. Portland series, kind of the same way. Then the last series we just got dismantled in 3 and 4 on the road. It was more a situation where we kind of -- obviously, the Thunder are a great team. We beat ourselves with turnovers and the details of the game plan that we knew we needed to correct or to execute at a very high level to win on the road. So we hope we can figure that out for tomorrow.

This is a hostile environment, for sure, and one we remember from last year. So you've got to get off to a good start and play with energy to keep ourselves in it early and not have to make crazy comebacks or do anything spectacular along the way. Just be ourselves.

Q. When you watched the film, what is your takeaway from the defense that you guys have played the first two games? What do you see?
STEPHEN CURRY: For the most part we're just staying in front of guys. We're obviously doing a lot of switching, but we're not having many breakdowns on communication knowing who's guarding who, loading up in transition so they don't get easy lay-ups, and trying to just contest as many jumpers as we can. We're not going to, you know, lock up every individual talent they have on the team. You've just got to live with contested shots and hope they miss and force them into those tough shots.

So the biggest thing we need to do better is obviously less turnovers. They had, I think, 20-plus points off of turnovers. If we can do that and continue to play the defense that we've been playing, that should help us, especially on the road when it's going to be even harder.

Q. Does it feel like you guys are playing or locked in defensively? Are you guys high-fiving each other in the film room on rotations and stuff?
STEPHEN CURRY: It's not a big celebration, but it is a good feeling knowing we're doing what we can do, but we can be better, which is something we need to challenge ourselves with, for sure.

Q. Last year in The Finals J.R. Smith struggled. So far in the first two games he's having the same kind of start. What are you doing to him to take him out of his comfort zone and make things difficult for him?
STEPHEN CURRY: Mainly, it's just like I was just talking about, not having any breakdowns, because some of the stuff they run for him they rely on some action that gets him free, especially for three-point shots. And then always just having a body as close as you can on him and making him put it down on the floor. If he gets to the basket and makes a play, which he's obviously capable of doing, we'll hopefully have help behind us. But you can't let him get open threes and get a rhythm, especially early in the game. So I know they're probably going to try to find ways to get him going in Game 3, and we need to stay locked in and focused on where he is at all times while still having five guys in help position for the other actions that they run.

Q. When LeBron was in here earlier he said, for obvious reasons, tomorrow is do or die. Nobody wants to go down 3-0 against anybody, particularly a 73-9 team. But when you hear that from an opponent and you know it's kind of all-or-nothing time for an opponent, how do you not get wrapped up in their thinking and sort of get away from the things that you have to do and the things that you have to focus on, instead of focusing too much on what this game means to the opponent?
STEPHEN CURRY: In a perfect world, we wouldn't hear anything they had to say and we could just worry about what our game plan is, but obviously, that's not possible. But you have to have a collective mindset that we know they're going to make adjustments. We know they're going to come out with a sense of urgency in the moment. But we need to have that same mentality, because for what's at stake, if we're able to go up 3-0, that is a great position to be in. That is the opportunity in front of us.

So we can't get complacent. We can't celebrate anything because we haven't accomplished anything yet. It would be good for us to have the same mindset he just described, regardless of the 2-0 lead.

Q. Going back a few weeks now, in the second round Oklahoma City lost to San Antonio -- blown out in Game 1, blown out. Came back and won the series. You guys get blown out in games 3 and 4 in Oklahoma City, and come back and win the series. You win two games decisively in this series, go on the road. Is there anything you can take from those previous experiences of yours and the other teams that maybe can help you in Game 3?
STEPHEN CURRY: I think I talked a little bit about it back at home after Game 2. We've been on the other side of a big comeback, and obviously have seen other teams do it as well. So if there's anything we know, that it's possible. For us with the kind of effort that we've put in and the IQ and just gamesmanship that's gotten us to this 2-0 lead, that can be taken away quick if you don't have the same mindset and keep your foot on the gas pedal.

So there are a lot of talented guys in that Cleveland locker room that are capable of having big games. And we need to stay on the aggressive route and not protect the lead, but try to come out, especially on the road, be a better team than we were the first two games.

Q. Have the Cavs showed you anything that's been unexpected so far?
STEPHEN CURRY: Not really. I mean, we know what their strengths are and who has the ball in their hands most of the time in certain sets that they run. I mean, they have the opportunity to throw some different lineups out there that may be an adjustment or two for Game 3. But based on having watched film and preparing for this series, we know the game plan of how we're going to defend certain guys, and we stuck to it.

So if there are adjustments to be made, then we're a pretty smart group that can do that on the fly and follow Coach's lead. But we've done a good job so far.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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