The Warriors were stunned tonight in a 111-124 loss against the Hawks, who are now on a three-game winning streak. Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler both had 30+ points, and yet it was not enough to hold back Atlanta from blowing the lead apart in the second half.
Following the game, Stephen Curry spoke to the media at the press conference. He expressed his takeaways on several things, including an encouraging message for role players amid struggles with bad form.
Curry initially spoke about what allowed the Hawks to run away with the lead and credited them for playing fast and outrunning the Warriors as they did with the Nuggets.
Subsequently, Curry had a motivational message for Moses Moody (two points) and Brandin Podziemski (three points), who both combined for only five points tonight. They both have struggled to find consistency and hence now have limited minutes every night in Steve Kerr’s rotation plans.
“It’s part of the journey,” began Curry as he sympathized with Moody and Podziemski for their struggles to find consistency. The star showed sympathy but also expected them to embrace the toughness.
“When they came here, everything was already under the spotlight, so they probably feel a heavier weight than even I experienced early in my career, where you just have to diagnose and be honest with yourself after each game about what you could have done better, but not lose your confidence.”
Neither of these two players was on the court for more than 13 minutes tonight. Yet Curry expects them to remain patient for their opportunity to shine and make an impact.
“You know you’ll get an opportunity in the next game to make an impact. Quick decisions, shoot when you’re open, don’t be results-based,” Curry perfectly summarized.
“It’s about the process and the way you approach the game that helps us win in the short term and you as a player in the long term.”
The Hawks led the game by as many as 25 points as the Warriors struggled to produce on the offensive end of the floor. They shot 10-42 as a team from the three-point line (23.8%).
Stephen Curry finished the game while leading all scorers for the Warriors with 31 points, three rebounds, and five assists while shooting 11-21 (52.4%) from the field and 3-11 from the three-point line (27.3%).
With a star-studded team of Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, role players are bound to feel the pressure. The 37-year-old superstar also spoke about what challenges he thinks role players on the Warriors face due to the superstar presence on the roster.
“It’s all about winning. I think it’s a challenging thing, but it’s also a great thing in terms of building your character, bringing the best out of you in the long term.”
“We obviously have a lot of attention. There’s a lot of noise. We have a very dedicated, loyal, passionate fan base. Everybody in this room who covers us daily. You’re going to have the reads and projections, grading of each player, and I guess it’s a part of the success that we’ve had.”
“And if you embrace it, winning is a lot of fun. And the level at which we’re at, none of it is guaranteed in this league. So you have to take the good with the challenge of the environment we’ve created here,” concluded Curry.
Amid the uncertain future for Jonathan Kuminga, the struggles for Podziemski and Moody are a bad sign for the Warriors’ long-term future. They have now fallen to 21-19 after this blowout loss to the Hawks. They now host the Trail Blazers on Tuesday night (January 13) in their next game.
