The Golden State Warriors held their exit interviews on Monday, and the scene was understandably somber.
Despite facing a 3-1 hole in the NBA Finals, a deficit that has never been overcome in the final round, the Cleveland Cavaliers still managed to shock the world by reeling off three straight victories against the greatest regular season team in NBA history.
When Steph Curry spoke with the press, he admitted he did not watch a second of the postgame coverage or any of the game itself. The wounds were just too raw. In fact, Curry said he may never watch the end of Game 7, a game that ended with the Warriors failing to make a single field goal in the final 4:30.
“I won’t watch the film of the bad because it’ll bring up too many bad memories. … But understanding how I can control the game better and whether or not I’ll be in that position again, I know I’ll be better.”
Curry also said his daughter, Riley, provided the perspective and understanding that only a child can in the aftermath of the Warriors’ collapse.
He told her, “We lost,” to which she said, “I know. It’s OK.”
With the season finally over, Curry offered some insight into his health during the playoff run. After going down with a MCL sprain in Game 4 of the first round against the Houston Rockets, many were questioning if the MVP was back at 100 percent after returning in the middle of the team’s second round series with the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I was out there on the floor and thought that I could do what I needed to do to be effective in games,” he said. “I wasn’t 100 percent, no, but it doesn’t matter. Coming back from a knee injury, I was able to play. I was able to give it what I had and it wasn’t enough.”
The Warriors are facing an interesting offseason as management tries to figure out just how much reconfiguring is necessary for a team that won 73 games in the regular season. Curry and fellow stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will be back, but role players like Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli might be on their way out, and the team is very much in the running for Kevin Durant.
No matter who is on the team next season, Curry is maintaining a positive outlook for the future.
“That’s not going to be the end of the story, just kind of a down chapter in the book,” Curry said.
[ESPN]
