Steve Kerr says Steph Curry's struggles not due to any injury
— -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- The growing search to find reasons for Stephen Curry's two-game slump wound its way back to the Bay Area on Wednesday, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr once again said Curry's right knee is not the culprit.
Curry's poor play over the past two games (7-of-17 shooting in Game 3, 6-of-20 with six turnovers in Game 4, a combined 5-for-21 on 3s) is so unexpected that it spawned speculation that he is seriously diminished by the sprained MCL he suffered in Game 4 of the opening-round series against the Houston Rockets. The Warriors have lost two games in a row for the first time all season and face a 3-1 deficit to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
Kerr dismissed a Yahoo! Sports report that quoted a non-Warriors source as saying Curry is playing at 70 percent. "Is that 'sources with knowledge of the team's thinking?'" Kerr asked Wednesday afternoon. "Nobody has said anything about Steph being 70 percent to me. Training staff, relatives, friends, sources with knowledge of the team's thinking -- nobody has told me he's 70 percent. Evidently they told the media but not me."
With the series in every-other-day mode, with travel on the off days, there is little time for recovery. Kerr acknowledged that Curry has been "not as explosive" over the past two games, and he inched closer to suggesting that Curry's problems are not solely the result of Oklahoma City's disruptive energy and long limbs.
"I know he's not injured -- if he were injured he would not be playing," Kerr said. "Is he bothered a little bit, perhaps by the layoff when he went three weeks without a game? He may not be quite where he needs to be, but it's not an injury, and that's the important thing."
Curry has appeared unaffected by the knee in several games since he slipped on the floor against Houston -- including a 40-point game in his return in Game 4 against Portland and an efficient 28-point game on 15 shots in the Warriors' Game 2 win over the Thunder -- but he has been noticeably tentative and less dynamic in Games 3 and 4. The Warriors, led by Curry, have resisted every attempt to cite the injury as a factor.
"It's the playoffs, and nobody cares," Kerr said of Curry's knee. "Everybody has issues and injuries."
Curry has been unable to take advantage of switches that left him one-on-one against the bigger and slower Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka, and he has shown a rare inability to navigate drives and finish at the rim. The knee is one possible reason, but Kerr was quick to credit the Thunder for their persistence and execution. And with Klay Thompson in foul trouble in Game 4, Curry was forced to track the tireless Russell Westbrook more than Kerr would have liked.
"They're healthy, they're whole and they're determined," Kerr said of the Thunder. "They want what we have."
The Warriors did not practice Wednesday, choosing to use the day to "refresh," Kerr said. No players were available to the media, but Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli were on the floor going through shooting drills. Kerr said others -- Curry presumably among them -- were at the facility receiving treatment.
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