Stephen Curry: Warriors Must 'Play Differently' vs. Blazers Without Kevin Durant
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry admitted the Dubs must "play differently" against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals while small forward Kevin Durant recovers from a calf injury.
"Without KD, we have to play differently and do it by committee," Curry told ESPN's Rachel Nichols on The Jump ahead of Game 2 on Thursday night.
Golden State recorded a 116-94 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday.
Durant suffered a calf strain during Game 5 of the Warriors' triumph over the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals.
Dubs head coach Steve Kerr told reporters before opening the series against Portland the two-time NBA Finals MVP hadn't "even stepped on the floor yet." It's unclear whether that's changed in recent days.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported Durant will remain sidelined for Game 2.
Golden State has continued its winning ways without him so far. It closed out the Rockets with a 118-113 victory in Game 6 before grabbing the early series lead on the Blazers.
Curry, who scored over 30 points just once over the first 11 playoffs games, poured in 33 in the clinching win against Houston and tallied 36 in Game 1 of the conference finals.
"I know what I'm capable of on the floor. The situation calls for me to be a little bit more aggressive and hopefully that'll continue," he said. "Obviously it's nice to see the ball go in. I didn't shoot the ball well for 4 1/2 games the last series and got off to a good start tonight. I want to maintain that. Every game is different, you've got to re-establish yourself. That's my perspective no matter how I play."
Game 2 may be crucial in determining how the Warriors handle Durant's recovery. Grabbing a 2-0 series lead could allow them to approach the situation conservatively as the series shifts to Portland. But a Blazers win Thursday would change the outlook and make KD's return more important.
That said, Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala won a championship in 2015 before Durant showed up, and they're capable of doing it again if necessary.
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