How Steph can set tone for Team USA during 2024 Paris Olympics

How Steph can set tone for Team USA during 2024 Paris Olympics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Egos can be put to the side with one question among the superstars of Team USA Men’s Basketball: Who’s the group’s best shooter?

The answer is clearly one player whose full name can be condensed down to five letters. Like an American echo in an empty gym, all teammates will say “Steph,” as in Warriors legend Steph Curry. And the closer international 3-point line compared to the NBA has been seen as an advantage for someone who has continued to defy what shooting from long distance means.

But Curry has felt the adjustments of subtle differences between how the court is constructed while also using a much different ball.

“For sure,” Curry said Thursday to reporters in Paris. “You talked about muscle memory and I know where I am in relation to the line on NBA courts and have a certain relation to that, a certain familiarity. It’s a little bit different. Or has been, I should say. When you’re toeing the line you might shoot a couple long, just because you’re not used to it.”

How Curry clanked numerous 3-point attempts in Team USA’s final two tune-up games ahead of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics would have raised eyebrows if he were anybody else. Curry in Team USA’s one-point win against South Sudan took nine threes and made three. In their four-point win over Germany, Curry only connected on one of his seven tries from deep.

Falling short of 40 percent behind the 3-point line, even by the tiniest of margins, is an anomaly for Curry. In Team USA’s five exhibition games prior to the scores counting in Paris, Curry was a 37.8-percent 3-point shooter, going 14 of 36.

His teammates aren’t concerned about Curry ever going cold. Neither is his Warriors and Team USA head coach Steve Kerr.

Asking Curry if he’s worried would be a waste of a breath.

“I think we’re past that now having played five games already, practices and just getting used to the dimensions on the court,” Curry said. “End of the day, you try not to think about it at all. It’s wherever you catch and shoot it, you got confidence to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/steph-set-tone-team-usa-233952845.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-07-26 23:39:52

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