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Stephen Curry and D’Angelo Russell have an understanding about who will control ball, and it’s pretty simple

Stephen Curry is the point guard of the Golden State Warriors. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be the one bringing the ball up the floor all the time, or even most of the time. Traditional positions, and the responsibilities that once went with them, have been largely erased from the modern game. Now it’s all about having multiple, versatile playmakers who can be agile in their deployment, sometimes on the ball, sometimes off. Situations and matchups dictate everything. It all happens on the fly. 

Enter D’Angelo Russell, who is also a point guard by traditional positional definition, and an All-Star one at that. The conventional thought is that Russell is not at the stage of his career where he’s as comfortable off the ball as Curry, who is the most dangerous off-ball player in the league in addition to being the best point guard. But the Warriors are going to play fast and reactive, and they are not going to spend time worrying about traditional concerns like who’s actually dribbling the ball up the floor. 

On that note, Curry says he and Russell have an understanding. 

“It’s no secret I like to play on and off the ball, and I know he can do the same,” Curry told reporters on Wednesday. “Our formula is whoever gets the rebound, or whoever is closest to the ball, get it and go, and the other guy [will] just run. I think the chemistry will be developed very quickly in terms of how we work off each other and what we can accomplish as a backcourt.”

Curry’s full comments can be heard below, via Anthony Slater of The Athletic:

Since the start of training camp there have been a pretty steady stream of reports about how excited Russell is to pay alongside Curry, and how much he’s already picking up by practicing next to him. Russell says he patterned parts of his game after Curry when he first got into the league as a similarly slight player with a slick handle and natural ability to score, and one can only imagine how actually playing and working out with Curry on a daily basis is going to impact Russell’s continued growth. 

Curry has proven, with the way he handled Kevin Durant’s arrival on the Golden State scene, that he is not just willing to take a step back for the greater good of the team, but that he’s actually adept at the art of making space for other stars to thrive. Russell knows he is gong to be able to play his game without worrying about stepping on the toes of a two-time MVP. 

That’s how the Warriors roll on Curry’s watch. No egos. No boxed-in responsibilities. They just play. There will be plenty of times Curry and Russell are both off the ball and it’s Draymod Green pushing the break. So be it. This is going to be fast and fun, and it sounds like Curry and Russell are already getting a good feel for how each will fit into the action. 

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