Seth Curry playing for Phoenix Suns and 29 other NBA teams
Jul 14, 2014, 4:03 PM | Updated: 4:03 pm
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — There couldn’t possibly be any more room on the Phoenix Suns’ roster for another point guard, could there?
Perhaps not, but Seth Curry, should he continue to perform as he did against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, is sure to force the Suns to pause for consideration. And if not the Suns, then some other NBA team.
“Any time you step on the court, especially in summer league, you’re playing for all 30 teams in the league. Everybody can see what’re doing,” said Curry, who played two games as a rookie last season, one with Memphis and one with Cleveland, after going undrafted out of Duke. “Nobody has my rights or anything like that, so I’m just going out there and trying to compete and show what I can do.”
What the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Curry showed was the ability to put the ball in the basket, particularly from long range. He made five of the Suns’ 11 three-pointers, including all four of his attempts in the fourth quarter when the team rallied from eight points down to post a 93-82 win at Cox Pavilion.
“Felt good. I got some good looks,” said Curry after scoring a game-high 26 points, 15 coming in the final quarter. “I was trying to get open without the ball and teammates were finding me. Coach drew up some good plays for me. I felt good. I felt like anything I threw up was going to go in.”
And almost anything did.
Curry, 23, was 7-for-9 from the field plus a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line. His last three of the game, in which he turned into a crowd-pleasing four-point play, capped a 15-0 run, helping the Suns outscore the Bucks 35-16 in the fourth quarter.
“He was very impressive,” head coach Mike Longabardi said. “That’s what he does. He’s a shooter. He makes shots.”
Curry, the younger brother of Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry, is playing on his second summer league team in as many weeks, having suited up for the Magic in Orlando where he averaged 9.8 points in 21.6 minutes on 43.9 percent shooting and 42.3 percent from three-point range in five games.
“I might be in little bit better shape and just in the rhythm of going up and down and playing an actual game,” he said.
Curry, while playing much of last year in the NBA D-League, where he earned Third Team and All-Rookie First Team honors, exhibited the talent to both score (19.7 points) and run an offense (5.8 assists).
The dual-threat skill set was on display during his 22 minutes of action against the Bucks.
“That’s one of my biggest weapons I can bring to a team,” he said. “Handle the ball most of the game and then, play off the ball and spread the court. I feel like that’s one of my advantages that I can bring.”
It just may not be with the Suns in what is already a crowded backcourt.
