Stephen Curry will turn 29 next month. If we haven’t already reached it, we’re getting close to the second half of his NBA career.
Of course, he’s aging with style and grace. His trophy case has the hardware to document his meteoric rise as one of basketball’s most dominant players.
And now in his fourth trip to the NBA’s celebrated All-Star weekend, he’s proving how much of a savvy veteran he’s become.
While other players will make paid sponsor appearances and hit the club scene for Mardi Gras down in the Big Easy, Curry has decided he’ll be focused on something entirely different: relaxation.
“I literally have nothing to do but the basketball side of stuff,” Curry said after Wednesday’s 109-86 win over the Kings. “It’s a pretty solid schedule I got. Fourth time around, you kind of understand the lay of the land and have more control over how much I exert myself off the court.”
The last few years during the February break, Curry was the king of the castle. LeBron James has been established for 15 years; Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were known entities. Curry? He was just entering his national limelight and the frenzy surrounding him was an incredible source of positivity for the league. His unique playing style and relatable size had woken up a legion of new NBA fans. Everyone wanted a piece of him and it became difficult for the easy going point guard to say no to opportunities. Curry owed it to basketball to be at everything and everything when he should’ve been resting.
The Golden State Warriors’ approach to this regular season is literally the polar opposite of one year ago. Chasing 73 wins last March and April was an unforgettable joyride, but it was also pedal-to-the-medal anxiety. Going for the record was, no doubt, taxing. We’ll never know exactly how much a strenuous regular season attributed to an NBA Finals collapse against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but Steve Kerr certainly seems to be much more aware of how the October-April schedule can impact his team in May and June.
So does Curry. Which is a completely different mantra than what he told the media one year ago on whether rest or the record of 73 games mattered more.
“Sitting out and watching is just boring,” Curry said last March. “I don’t like watching games if you have the opportunity to play in them.
“For us, we don’t want to limp into the playoffs. We want to continue to play better and fine-tune on both sides of the ball, our execution.”
In the moments after the devastating Game 7 collapse, Curry and the Warriors weren’t ready to admit they ran out of gas. But it appears some reflection of coming up short has made the entire team wiser in their approach. As Michael Jordan recently told Warriors owner Joe Lacob, 73 wins ‘don’t mean s***.’ For a team as indestructible as the Warriors, being as ready as possible for the playoffs is now the goal of the regular season
And more than any other player on the Warriors roster, Curry needs the physical rest. Opponents in the playoffs have made their strategy abundantly clear: They’re going to be as physical with Curry as possible. Checking him hard on screens, fouling him hard in the lane, getting any type of contact will be emphasized in game plans.
It’s Cleveland especially who employs this strategy. A Richard Jefferson Snapchat from last June revealed coach Ty Lue’s message on a flatscreen in the locker room: No air space for No. 30. And the best way to take away space from Curry is keep your hands all over him.
Curry was so worn down after the last postseason, he opted to skip the Olympics games in Brazil. As long as the Warriors continue their stranglehold on the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, random off nights and a slight minutes restriction could be in Curry’s future to make sure he’s fully ready for the playoffs.
“Personally, just trying to relax and enjoy the New Orleans scene,” Curry said, “and get as much rest as I can.”
Enjoy some time off your feet, Steph.