Mark Jackson Best Shooting Backcourt Platitude: Steph Curry Says It Helped Build Confidence (Photo: ESPN.com)
WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY, OAKLAND, CA — Just shy of a year ago, after the Golden State Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets whom they play tonight, ironically, in Game 2 of the opening round of the 2012-13 Western Conference Playoffs, head coach Mark Jackson famously claimed that Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were the best backcourt shooting duo in the history of the NBA.
After this morning’s shootaround, Curry referenced that day while praising Jackson in bringing out the best of his and his teammates’ play.
We’ve seen before the special bonds that Jackson has formed with his players, most notably the one with Draymond Green.
Today, Curry offered some insights on how Jackson gets the most out of his players, being as they say, a “players’ coach”.
“He’s a guy that’s always encouraging his players,” Curry said, “Sometimes you look at him like, ‘Did he really say that?’, like what he said about me and Klay (Thompson) being the best shooting backcourt, or what he says about Draymond and what he brings to the team and how not many people may have noticed before.”
It was a glorious, watershed day in the Warriors recently barren playoff history. After losing by just two points, 97-95, three nights earlier to open the series in Denver, Curry scored 30 points, dished out 13 assists, and combined with Thompson on 9-for-16 from beyond the arc. The Warriors routed the Nuggets, 131-117, seizing homecourt advantage, and eventually disposing of Denver in six games.
“He knows how to just pump you up and get you confident and it’s not fake either,” Curry added, “As a player you love to hear that. Sometimes you go on through some dry spells and you need that little boost. I know a lot of coaches you’ve probably seen throw their players under the bus as soon as they can. He’s never done that, so we want to give him that respect back and more.”
One example of that is Jackson’s almost-stubborn support tonight, during the pregame press conference before the Warriors take the floor against the Nuggets, of the struggling Harrison Barnes.
“I’ve had total confidence in him,” Jackson said of his sophomore forward, “He’d be the first to tell you, he hasn’t had a great year. He owns that, but he’s a guy that I believe is going to win games for us.
“I’d be lying if I sat here and told you it would make a difference with my rotation. He’s going to play. He’s going to play big minutes and I’m going to trust him. He’s going to have the basketball and he’s going to defend at a high level and he’s going to play multiple positions.”
Curry summed it up this morning.
“So I mean I just look at what he’s been able to do in three years since he’s been here and where our team is now and obviously we’ve had better personnel,” Curry said, “but the fact we’re — some say we’re underachieving at this point when we should be a 50-win team this year — that hasn’t been done in this organization in a long time.
“That says a lot and also says something about growing expectations,” Curry added, “It’s a good problem to have and so for us to support Coach, I mean, everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, but me, I’ve never been shy about how I feel about him and that’ll always continue.”
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