In Game 1 vs the Rockets, Steph Curry registered 18 points and eight assists. He went 8-for-15 from the field and only turned the ball over one time.
In Game 2, the two-time MVP scored 16 points and dished out seven assists. He went 6-for-11 on shots inside the arc and only turned the ball over two times.
The issue for Curry through two games has been his 3-point shot. He went 1-for-5 on Monday and 1-for-8 on Wednesday.
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SIGN UP HERE "It's certainly been a challenge," Curry's personal trainer, Brandon Payne, told Greg Papa and Bonta Hill on 95.7 The Game on Thursday. "Any time you go up against a couple guys like Harden and Chris Paul ... you're gonna have some challenges and you're gonna have to adjust and you're gonna have to figure out how to stay in front of them.
"The Rockets have done a really, really good job of keeping length on him. They're really getting out high -- even well out behind the 3-point line -- forcing him to put the ball on the ground ... there's a little bit of patience you kind of have to have when you're going against guys like Capela and even Ariza sometimes -- just the length they have. There are ways that we can control them.
"I think patient aggression is kind of the term to use, what really needs to be done moving forward. Be patient but aggressive within your patience, and what I mean by that is change speeds with the ball, change speeds with your feet, look to create space after you get defenders to drop their hands."
Has Curry missed a bunch of open looks from deep?
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- 1-for-2 on "tight" attempts
- 1-for-8 on "open" attempts
- 0-for-3 on "wide open" attempts
He hasn't yet made a triple off the bounce, as both of his makes were catch-and-shoot.
"A lot of what you're seeing is he's really having to defend," Payne explained. "And that does take away from you on the other end a little bit. It does take a lot out of you ... you can be down in a stance for 13 or 14 seconds trying to stay in front of that guy (Harden), and that's gonna take something out of you no matter how well conditioned you are ... but that's not an excuse.
"I really think that with the layoff that they have ... there will be a lot of time to watch film and kind of reflect on what did and didn't work out. I certainly don't think it's panic time, not by any stretch of the imagination."
"As far as the stability and the strength -- I think he's good there. It's just a matter of getting in game situations and being mentally confident in it ... but the fact that he's been able to finish around the basket, it does make me feel a little bit better that he does know what to do around the basket to get the ball in the hole.
"He just has to find some cleaner looks on the perimeter to get things opened up for him from that standpoint."
| Game | Result/Schedule |
|---|---|
| Game 1 | Warriors 119, Rockets 106 |
| Game 2 | Rockets 127, Warriors 105 |
| Game 3 | Oakland -- Sunday, May 20th at 5pm |
| Game 4 | Oakland -- Tuesday, May 22nd at 6pm |
| Game 5 | Houston -- Thursday, May 24th at 6pm |
| Game 6 | Oakland -- Saturday, May 26th at 6pm |
| Game 7 | Houston -- Monday, May 28th at 6pm |
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller