Even the best shooter in the world needs a confidence boost from time to time. Steph Curry came into Sunday's game against the New York Knicks in a bit of a slump from his normal comfort zone, hitting only 4 of 31 from deep.
So Warriors head coach Steve Kerr took it upon himself to remind Curry that the reigning two-time MVP is still valuable even when his shots aren't falling.
"That's your shooting totals, that's your plus-minus," Kerr said to Curry during a stoppage of play. "So it's not always tied together. You're doing great stuff out there. The tempo is so different when you're out there. Everything you generate for us is so positive. It shows up here, not always there, but it always shows up here. You're doing great."
Then Kerr leaves him with one last positive message.
"Carry on, my son."
Now, is it a coincidence that Curry, who moved into 10th place on the all-time 3-pointers list, ended his three-game slide, scoring 31 points and hitting 5 of 13 from deep? Possibly. But Kerr's words of wisdom couldn't have hurt.
After the game, Kerr revealed why he felt the need to talk to Curry about his plus-minus.
"Well I looked at the stat sheet and he was a plus-15 and I think he was 3 for 11 at the time," Kerr told reporters after the Warriors' 112-105 win that ended their two-game slide. "I know as a shooter sometimes you base everything on whether your shot is going in. I felt like he was giving us a huge boost with his energy and just pushing the ball in transition, putting a lot of pressure on the defense.
"So I just wanted to remind him that shots may go and they may not, but you're still having a huge impact on this game. I feel that way pretty much every game with Steph. He kind of tilts the floor, the defense has to react to him and that helps everybody."
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