DENVER -- Steve Kerr, to no surprise, wouldn't reveal if Steph Curry would again come off the bench or not for Thursday night's Game 3 matchup against the Denver Nuggets in the Warriors' first-round playoff series. His star point guard will see more minutes, though.
"He should be elevated tonight," Kerr said Thursday after the Warriors' shootaround from Ball Arena. "He came through the first two games well. We've had the last couple days off in terms of no game action. He's had a chance to assess where he is and he's doing really well."
Curry came off the bench in the Warriors' Game 1 win and scored 16 points over 22 minutes. He has admitted he didn't fully feel like himself after missing the previous month to a sprained left foot, but he sure looked like himself in Game 2, scoring 34 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
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SIGN UP HERE That historic showing made him the first player in the NBA shot-clock era to score at least 30 points in as little as 23 minutes in a playoff game, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Pretty good for a Sixth Man.
"I've been feeling more and more like myself and trying to maintain the level of intensity it takes to do what I need to do out there on the floor in a playoff-type atmosphere," Curry said Thursday.
He did say it's weird coming off the bench, though this isn't the first time he has done so in the playoffs, and the biggest difference for him is the mental side of it all. For how much of a show he puts on each and every game, fans have flocked for years to watch his pregame routine. Curry quickly learned he had to switch up a few things in the routine prior to Game 1.
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His focus throughout his warmups is to have his body as ready to go as possible for tipoff. Coming off the bench is different. It's not easy feeling wired, sitting for a stretch and then expecting to have that same energy.
Whatever changes he made in Game 2, expect the same in Game 3 -- if he again is coming off the bench.
"Pregame activations and stuff to get my body going," Curry explained. "I had to delay it a little. Usually you do everything for the opening tip, then you have a certain routine that you rely on to make sure you're primed and ready to go. I did it Game 1 and then I sat on the bench. I was over there kind of legs shaking, couldn't control myself.
"I don't know if that was the atmosphere and just the moment, but also knowing that my routine had to get switched up a little bit so I could get ready for that first quarter."
Whether it be Thursday night, Sunday's Game 4 or even later, Curry of course will be back in the starting lineup. That means someone is going to the bench. It might be the red-hot Jordan Poole, or perhaps Kerr goes small right away and sits center Kevon Looney.
Talking through that upcoming decision with Curry is a piece of cake for Kerr. It might not be with other stars on other teams, but it's just another example of what makes Steph so special.
Who's on the court when it matters most, and the final score being in favor of the Warriors always will be priority No. 1 for the three-time champion.
"Hopefully I've demonstrated at the end of the day it doesn't really matter," Curry said. "It's about obviously who's in that closing lineup, but also when you're ready to go and your number's called, just being ready for whatever that looks like. Jordan's been unbelievable obviously this last month and a half in the starting lineup. [Klay Thompson] has found his rhythm, [Andrew Wiggins], I don't think he's ever come off the bench in his life. Obviously you need Draymond [Green] out there and [Kevon Looney] provides so much for us as a presence inside, especially in certain matchups.
"It's difficult decisions for coach to figure out what's the right move, but at the end of the day it's on all of us to make the necessary adjustments to be ready and make it about winning and make it about just being ready. Whoever starts, JP's gonna play 35 minutes. Klay's gonna play the same, Wiggs is gonna be out there for a big chunk of 30-plus minutes, Draymond's gonna do what he needs to do and so am I. ... Everybody has to be ready to figure that out."
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Curry wasn't out to make a statement to his teammates by coming off the bench, but he's perfectly fine if that's what it needed to be for certain players.
"If you're worried about anything other than just trying to win the game, then you're approaching it wrong to begin with," he continued. "We all have egos. We all have healthy egos in terms of believing in ourselves and confidence in ourselves. You want to be a starter, you want to have that title in this league and continue to build on that, but at the end of the day ... honestly, it really doesn't matter."
Expect two things out of Curry in Game 3: More minutes and the same leadership he always brings to the Warriors.