The Warriors are rolling yet again. They currently stand with the second-best record in the NBA and have put together a string of victories that have vaulted them out of a minor rut just a few weeks back.
Even though Steve Kerr's coaching staff has helped overcome prolonged injuries and absences to the Warriors' roster to propel the team to nearly the top of the standings, some factions of fans and media still remain concerned about Kerr's usage of superstar Steph Curry on offense.
Some claim that this could be the reason for his unusual shooting funk in January, and the brief moments in games in which the offense stalls or lags.
The Warriors this season have changed Curry's traditional rotation pattern that he has done for years. Previously, he would play the entire first quarter, the final six minutes of the second quarter, the entire third quarter and the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.
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This season, he plays about nine minutes in every quarter -- with more frequent, but shorter, breaks.
When Curry joined the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast, I asked him point-blank to paint a clear picture of how he participates in his head coach's strategizing.
RELATED: Steph's "infinite" shooting mindset shows key to star's greatness
Here is the transcript from that segment, edited lightly for clarity:
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Grant Liffmann: There are some fans, there are some media, that can be pretty critical of the way the Steve Kerr offense runs and how it handles you, like on-ball, off-ball, high ball screens, pick-and-rolls, how your minutes are distributed, all these things are in hot debate at some point every single year. To be clear, how much are you involved and how would you characterize your involvement in the strategy and decisions that are made in this realm?
Steph Curry: It surprises me, I guess every year, that there is not an inherent understanding that I don't just show up into the locker room, head up going to the bench, go through all these practices, and me and Coach [Kerr] don't have these type of conversations in terms of my rotations, or play calls, or whatever the case may be. Yes, I might not get the answer that I want in terms of ... you know, I'd love to play 42 minutes a night. I feel like I can do it.
And certain games where you can push it a little bit, and you all can see my face or my reaction, body language, whatever, and then the questions come after the game.
'Did you want to come out in the middle of the fourth quarter?' And it's like, of course, I didn't, but [Kerr's] making decisions for the good of the big picture, that is what his job is to manage. So for like all that stuff, of course we have conversations about our rotation.
Right now my rotation is exactly how it should be, in terms of managing the season, giving our rotations the best chance to not have any lulls throughout the game, implement Klay [Thompson] back into the lineup when he is on a minutes restriction, and also fully understanding that it could change come post-All-Star, playoff run. That is an ongoing assessment of how we are looking and how I'm feeling and all of that.
The on-ball, off-ball stuff is less of an issue because at any point, and Coach probably knows this. At any point, I could say, 'I'm just going to run high pick-and-rolls for ten straight possessions.'
But also, you have to understand, what is the best chance for us to win the game? Depending on how the teams are guarding, depending on what their strategy is, whether or not they want to blitz the pick-and-roll, who else is out there on the floor, do I have it rolling, or do I not.
Sometimes, granted, I will say that sometimes you can over-complicate things a little bit in terms of -- and me and Coach have talked about this -- he will be the first one to tell you that sometimes he wants to use me as a decoy, and executing that offense especially in late-game situations sometimes becomes a little more difficult. And we go through those reps throughout the season so that when we get to the playoffs, we have a refined understanding of how we are going to win games, in all different types of scenarios and situations.
But my skill set obviously, in how I approach the game, I have the ability to do both [on-ball and off-ball]. And we are going to continue to try to do both, as long as it continues to work. And throughout the course of 82 games, you are going to get a little bit of everything.
I will say that I appreciate the passion of all our fans to know the ebbs and flows of the season. And everyone wants to play coach, that is how it is supposed to be. But as long as we are winning, we will be able to figure it out.
GL: It would be bad if people didn't care, so that is how you have to look at it, as glass half full.
SC: That is how I wanted to finish that, because that passion, keep it coming. You are right, if there is ever a situation if nobody is asking that question, then I probably would get concerned like, 'Are we not relevant anymore?'