Stephen Curry: It Was ‘Joint Decision’ Between Players, Coaches To Leave Jaylen Brown Open From 3

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry told NBA reporters that it was a “joint decision” between players and coaches to leave Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown open from 3.

The Warriors’ strategy failed miserably, as Brown shot 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.

“A team that has that many threats, you try to find some weak spot to see if it’ll throw them off a little bit,” Curry said, via The Athletic. “Obviously, it didn’t work. When you have a creative idea and it doesn’t work, you’re taking the ball out of the basket, they’re hitting 10 3s in the first quarter, that’s what we used to do to teams.

“It’s kind of demoralizing, especially on the road. It’s a shot you’re comfortable giving up, and they’re taking advantage. Then it feels like we got to play home run basketball on the other end to make it.”

The Warriors lost to the Celtics by a final score of 140-88. Curry played only 16 minutes. The two-time NBA MVP finished with four points while shooting 2-of-13 from the field and 0-of-9 from beyond the arc. 

“No regrets on how we approached it,” Curry said. “Learning lesson for us to take the hit we took tonight and not let it linger. On the whole, we’ve been playing some solid basketball. Wash this one down the drain, but remind yourself the level we have to get to if we want to be the team that’s a serious threat at the end of the year.”

The Warriors are 32-28 on the season. They are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. 

“Once you get into the playoffs and you have a series in front of you, understand who your opponent is, go through the preparation — we’ve been good in those scenarios,” Curry said. “That’s the big picture.”