Getty Steph Curry reacts to a play in a game against the Indiana Pacers.
Steph Curry may seem like Superman at times, and one Golden State Warriors coach revealed the two-time MVP’s kryptonite — lack of rest.
Curry has gotten off to a strong start this season, averaging 27.1 points per game along with 6 assists and 5.4 rebounds while leading his team to a 25-6 record, tied with the Phoenix Suns for the most wins. But Curry has also been logging some heavy minutes, with his 34.4 minutes per game the most since 2013-14, his fifth season in the league. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has said the intention is to limit Curry’s minutes, but that hasn’t happened much this season, and one assistant warned that it would cost the team if they miss the opportunities to get him some rest.
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Curry’s Kryptonite
Nearing the end of a five-game road trip last week and facing the prospect of complicated travel into Canada for a game against the Toronto Raptors, Kerr decided it was the right time to give Curry a night off. Kerr sent Curry and a number of other ailing Warriors players home early, allowing rookie Jonathan Kuminga to get his first career start.
Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser said the team is well aware that Curry needs a break here and there, especially since he has other activities away from the court — his business interests and growing family especially — that wear on him over the course of the season.
“Steph’s kryptonite is a lack of rest,” Fraser told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke.
As The Athletic’s Anthony Slater noted, Curry already had a big road trip before earning the night off and early ride home. He had already played both ends of a back-to-back set, ending in New York where he passed Ray Allen to become the NBA’s all-time three-point leader. As Slater added, Curry and his fellow veterans traveled back to San Francisco in style.
.@StephenCurry30 enjoying his moment. 🙌
“This is actually a proactive decision by the Warriors to ease the workload of their veterans. They’re having Curry, [Draymond] Green, [Andre] Iguodala and [Otto] Porter hop on a private plane back to the Bay Area for an extra off day, allowing them to avoid all the logistical COVID protocols and hurdles getting in and out of Toronto during a pandemic,” Slater wrote.
Kerr Addressed Curry’s Workload
Kerr has made it clear that he’s always cognizant of Curry’s workload and managing that over the course of the long season plus what could be a lengthy playoff run. After giving Curry a longer-than-normal break against the Oklahoma City Thunder back in October, Kerr told The Athletic’s Slater that he wants his minutes down over the course of the year.
Art is to be appreciated.
Salute to the NBA’s 3-Point GOAT, @StephenCurry30
“We wanted to get Steph a little more rest tonight,” Kerr said. “He’s been averaging over 35 minutes a game. We wanted to get him down to 32, 33. We knew we were going to take him out mid-first and buy a few minutes and wanted to do that in the third but didn’t feel comfortable because we were still climbing uphill.”
Curry could potentially have a longer break coming up. With the number of COVID-19 infections rising across the league, the NBA reportedly told teams that Christmas Day games could be subject to change — including the Warriors matchup with the league-leading Phoenix Suns.
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