When Alen Smailagić was subbed out in what would later become a blowout loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, the 19-year-old rookie was not allowed much time to feel frustration over his lack of scoring. Steph Curry, who’s now about as involved with the team as an injured player can be, cut Smiley off before he could sit down on the bench and put both hands on the young man’s shoulders.



“He said, you’re a 19-year-old guy, I have to expect to not get the ball,” Smailagić relayed of the exchange. “Not in the first few games because I didn’t play much with the guys and they don’t know what I’m capable of. It’s going to come. I’m going to get better and better, going to get stronger, the game is going to slow down for me.”



The game could hardly have been moving faster for the kid out of Serbia. If he seemed a little out of sorts during some offensive sets against the...