Stephen Curry may have endured the worst shooting performance of his NBA career, but he felt the Golden State Warriors took a step in the right direction against the Toronto Raptors.
Although two-time MVP Curry was 2-of-16 from the floor for 11 points, the Warriors still managed to secure a 106-105 victory over the Raptors at Chase Center on Sunday.
It was the Golden State guard's poorest shooting display in a game when he attempted more than four shots, his previous worst having been going 2-of-15 for four points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Christmas Day in 2010.
The lacklustre performance followed on from Curry scoring nine three-pointers in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday – his 26th game with as many makes from beyond the arc.
Asked if before the season he thought he would be able to be as inaccurate as he was against the Raptors and still end up on the winning team, Curry replied with a grin: "Well, I never thought I'd go 2-of-16. So, I never even thought about that."
However, he felt the Warriors improving to 6-4 showed they are on the right path after a difficult start to the season.
"It means we're moving in the right direction," said Curry, who still managed to contribute nine rebounds and six assists.
"My offense, I expect it to be there every night. And obviously with how teams are defending night to night, being able to figure that out, but in terms of us having confidence across the board no matter who's out on the floor, I like where we're at right now in terms of guys stepping up, staying within ourselves, spotting different ways to execute on that end of the floor.
"But forget my shooting, we don't win a game like this without our defense taking strides in the right direction. We all understood that and that definitely won us the game with how ugly it was on the offensive end."
Curry does not expect there to be any long-term impact from one sub-par outing on the offensive end.
"I've shot 0-for-11 one time and 1-for-10 and all everywhere in between," Curry said. "So mostly it's just keep shooting, and eventually it will find its way.
"I think you kind of have to stay engaged on the other parts of the game, obviously defensively, trying to get rebounds, be a decoy sometimes if necessary.
"There's a lot of different ways that you can still be impactful if you're not shooting, but at the end of the day, just keep shooting. I'm not worried about that. At all."
Head coach Steve Kerr added: "I think we have enough talent, enough weapons to overcome a bad shooting performance, so I don't even know that I need to say anything.
"If it happens, these guys all look at the box score, they know what's going on. And they know by this time that the key to our team is our defense. And we were very good defensively again, so we're absolutely heading in a good direction."
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Sesko opts for Leipzig stay over Arsenal, Man Utd move due to progress opportunities
Benjamin Sesko remains certain that staying at RB Leipzig is the "right decision" to develop his career after turning down reported Premier League interest.
Slovenia international Sesko joined Leipzig from RB Salzburg in 2023, scoring 14 league goals last campaign, a tally bettered by only seven players in the German top flight.
That form was said to have attracted Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea to the 21-year-old, who instead signed a new five-year contract with the Bundesliga club last month.
Having committed his future to life at the Red Bull Arena, the striker believes Leipzig will provide a platform for his progression.
"I thought it through very well," Sesko said to Nogomania, a Slovenian media outlet. "I believe I made the right decision. I wanted to gain more experience, learn more, and not rush things.
"Leipzig are an excellent club that can provide what I need for the next step. Leipzig's vision is clear; everything is geared towards growth, progress, and high goals. I felt it was right to decide this way."
Sesko's new deal could see him stay with Leipzig until 2029, with Marco Rose boasting one of the world's most exciting prospects up top.
The Leipzig attacker scored from 14 of his 47 shots last season in the league, a conversion rate of 29.8% – the third-best ratio in the 2023-24 Bundesliga among players to have managed at least five goals.
That deadly finishing in front of goal will have Rose excited once more, and Sesko says his boss was key to the decision to stay.
"We talked," Sesko explained. "He told me he wanted me to stay but also said I should decide based on my feelings.
"He said if I felt I needed to move on, I should go, but if not, I should stay. He's an excellent coach who has led many great players.
"I'm glad I decided this way. I did it before the Euro to keep a clear head and focus entirely on the championship."
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
