Deep in shooting slump, Curry hasn’t lost confidence

Stephen Curry rattled off nine three-pointers in a row at one point during Warriors shoot-around Tuesday morning. To the average observer, it would appear nothing was wrong with the two-time MVP’s shot as of late.

But in the four of five Golden State losses in the past two weeks, Curry has shot a season low 18.9 percent from three-point range. But Curry isn’t worried.

When asked if he was in a shooting slump, Curry replied:

“I never really use that word. Because a ‘slump’ to me kind of tastes like you’re losing a little bit of confidence and whatnot. Obviously I’d like to shoot better and make shots, make more shots. I’m sure that will happen.”

In the past two seasons, Curry has shot 44.3 and 45.4 percent from beyond the three point line. As of March 14, Curry is shooting only 39.3 percent from three-point range.

In addition, Curry’s overall shooting percentage has fallen this season, from 50.4 percent in 2015 to 46.1 percent this season.

In reference to his shot, Curry said:

“It’s felt okay, there’s nothing mechanically that’s wrong, that’s felt wrong, there’s nothing that I’m searching or wondering about. It’s more just, you get a wide open shot, you gotta knock it down.”

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of Curry’s struggles has been his decline in shots made since Kevin Durant was injured February 28 in Washington against the Wizards.

Since Durant has been absent, Curry has shot an underwhelming 27.7 percent from the three-point line and only 41.8 percent from the floor as a whole.

This looks bad as far as production without Durant on floor, though Curry doesn’t think that Durant’s lack of presence is the issue:

“(Durant) obviously provides a huge magnet when he’s out there on the floor. But for the most part we’ve created some really good shots. … We’ve been able to create some good things. As long as we keep doing that, we pretty much have faith in the fact that we’ll be able to put the ball in the basket.”

Curry and the rest of the Warriors have an opportunity to do just that Tuesday night as they face the Philadelphia 76ers, mired in the bottom third of the league in defensive rating, according to ESPN.com

But according to Curry, the numbers don’t mean much:

“We get every team’s best shot every single night, so you can’t really look at trends and such when teams play us. It’s just kind of how it’s been and how it supposed to be. I expect to see a fiery Philadelphia team swarming around the floor.”

If the Warriors hope to retain the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference, now would be the time for Curry to get his shot back on track. And with 11 of the next 16 games of the regular season at home, the circumstances are set up for that to happen.

If not, that might be something Curry should be worried about.