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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS


June 12, 2016


Stephen Curry


Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. Just curious your reaction to news of the Draymond suspension. Were you surprised? And I trust you're still confident.
STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, we were surprised. You know, it's an unfortunate situation and him getting caught with LeBron on top of him. I don't think his intention was to try to hurt anybody. He was protecting himself.

But it's an unfortunate situation for our team. But, like you said, we're still confident and we know we have the personnel and the depth to come out and get a win, and that's all that really matters. It honestly doesn't matter what we think about what he did or didn't do. The situation is what it is, and we've got to win.

Q. Do you think it's possible LeBron was baiting him?
STEPHEN CURRY: I don't know. You'd have to ask him.

Q. Have you talked to Draymond about his suspension in Game 5? Was he depressed about that?
STEPHEN CURRY: He's not happy, no. But anybody in that situation, you can't expect them to be okay with the decision or whatnot. I know he's going to give us positive energy. He's going to support us as a team the best way he can, even though he's not going to be on the floor, and we have to go out and get a win for him.

Q. The ice pack on your shoulder, is this an injury or is this something --
STEPHEN CURRY: I can't even keep a straight face. Whoever said I was getting shoulder surgery and all that kind of stuff, we've got bumps and bruises, but every -- we'll be all right.

Q. Both shoulders?
STEPHEN CURRY: No, we'll be fine.

Q. You've only played without Draymond once this season, it was a loss. What do you lose when he's not there? What do you feel the void is when Draymond's not on that court?
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, you see every game what he brings, the energy, the defensive presence. He's a playmaker with the ball in his hands, and he's a proven All-Star that's done a lot for our team this year. So we'll obviously miss his impact and the intangibles that he brings to the game. We're going to have to have somebody step up and do it by committee to replace that effort.

We'll figure out the lineups that we need to throw out there. We'll figure out the plays we need to run and kind of the flow we need to have on the offensive end. Then obviously all five guys on the defensive end have to step up and guard your man and help each other out and play with even more energy than we have so far in this series.

Q. Steve Kerr just mentioned to us the Magic Johnson Game 6 without Kareem. I know it's been short, but has he mentioned that to you? Do you see something like that possible going on in the next game?
STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, we're going to come out aggressive and confident, just like we would if Draymond was playing. We understand what we're playing for, and that's all that matters. So we hope to have a great night, take care of the details of the game. Individual guys step up and play pretty special and have special efforts and come out with a win.

Q. Steph, what did you make of LeBron's comment about the trash talking being bothersome to him in the postgame press conference?
STEPHEN CURRY: I didn't hear what he said. He just said it bothered him?

Q. He said some of the things that Draymond said on the floor shouldn't have been said, were offensive.
STEPHEN CURRY: Oh, that's between them two. Knowing the game of basketball and the competition, there's going to be chatter back and forth. I got into it with guys at times. You obviously never get personal with it, and I don't think from my recollection of hearing what was said, I don't think it crossed the line in that regard.

But trash talking is part of the game. You've got to give it; you've got to be able to take it. It's just you don't want it to see it ever cross the line and become personal, because the game of basketball is never that serious in regards to disrespecting people. So you've got to leave it on the floor.

Q. Lastly, should what is said be talked about off the floor? And also it seemed like you and LeBron actually had an exchange last game as well.
STEPHEN CURRY: I don't think so. There's a lot of emotion, a lot of competition on the floor. Like I said, as long as it doesn't cross the line, I think pretty much anything's fair game and should be left on the floor for sure. Me and him were talking about wrestling on an inbound play. I was trying to let the ref know what was going on, and he had a rebuttal. That was it.

Q. Kind of along the lines of what Mark was just asking, LeBron said separately that it was Draymond's swing at him that set him off and also something that Draymond had said. And you had mixed it up with LeBron as well. What I was going to ask is were you surprised or was there anything that you thought was out of the ordinary about LeBron's reaction just in that couple minutes' span there? Like did you think he was more upset than perhaps he should be?
STEPHEN CURRY: I'd never tell somebody how they should react or not react on the floor. Everybody's different and has different personalities. So I would never want somebody judging me and my responses on the floor because sometimes you can control it, sometimes you can't.

Like I said, whatever happens on the floor, it stays there. And it's all a part of the game, the back and forth of competition. So there's no right or wrong way, really, to handle those situations. You do what you feel is right, and you live with it. Doesn't matter what anybody says, really.

Q. Can you talk about in the context of basketball what message a player's trying to send to someone when they step over them? Like the A.I. on Ty Lue, Pippen on Ewing, and we saw that LeBron kind of did that on Draymond. Can you talk about what that step-over kind of means on the basketball court?
STEPHEN CURRY: In that context or the one that happened last game was totally different. There was no play that happened. It was kind of like with A.I. and Pippen, it's usually somebody getting dunked on or somebody crossing somebody over and you see them. It's one of those situations where you just want to add insult to injury.

I don't know what LeBron's intention was. Like I said, you have to ask him. Obviously Draymond thought it was disrespectful and wanted to get up and say something, so that was his reaction to it. I would have probably done the same thing.

But there have been some cool moments where A.I.'s done it. And obviously Ty Lue didn't like it at the time, and neither did any of the Laker team. But it was A.I.'s cool moment and everybody remembers it.

But you could single out a lot of different plays in the history of the game where you add a little insult to injury just enjoying the moment.

Q. Because in that situation it seemed as if LeBron had shoved him down and then stepped over him, so giving him some sort of cause to react that way. Did you feel that?
STEPHEN CURRY: That's why I thought Draymond was reacting to that situation. It wasn't so much getting thrown down, it was he's trying to get up and somebody's straddling him on top. So it's like an awkward situation to be in. So that was his reaction. That's why I'm still kind of surprised that that was what the decision was.

Q. Draymond's been in the spotlight for the last two rounds. The kick to Adams, the trip of Kanter, and now this to LeBron. As a teammate of his, what kind of balancing act is it for you to deal with the ups and downs of being his teammate, especially with the games mattering as much as they do this time of year?
STEPHEN CURRY: I think it hasn't been that much of a distraction for us as a team. Because Draymond plays with fire, and that's what we love about him. Unfortunately he's been in two situations now or as of late that have caused some people to judge his character and intent on the floor. I think that's overboard, knowing Draymond as a player and a person.

It sucks now that he's not going to be on the floor, and it is a different situation now because it's spilled over into that.

But there's never been a distraction for us every single game having to watch out for Draymond and try to maybe calm him down or whatnot or worry about if he's thinking about it or not because we know when he's out there, he's going to give us what he's got and give us that fire and that attitude that we need. So we love that about him, and now we have to go out and get a win for him.

Q. Is there any part of you that wishes he would approach those kind of things with just a little more restraint?
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, if you look at those two situations, I don't think so. It's hard to tell him he should respond differently in those moments because I don't know how I would have responded in a similar situation. No, no, I don't second-guess his actions, per se, even though he's in a bad situation right now.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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