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NEW ORLEANS – The smile formed on Stephen Curry’s face as he processed both his progress on his left knee and the Warriors’ Game 4 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Curry still smiled as he exited the arena and stopped a few times to pose for pictures with fans.

Those blissful moments on Sunday, however, hardly compared to what happened next. Curry spoke to The Bay Area News Group about Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser helping him during his recent rehab on a left knee injury that kept him out for 5 ½ weeks. As he talked, Curry exited the loading dock and saw Fraser patiently waiting for him by the team bus. Curry’s eyes brightened and his smile spread wider.

“See!?” Curry said, grinning. “He’s always around and he knows how to give you a little boost.”

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The Warriors enter Game 5 against the Pelicans on Tuesday at Oracle Arena with plenty centering on whether they can close out their series with a 3-1 lead. Plenty also centers on Curry’s progress in what will mark his fourth game since nursing a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee that kept him out for 10 regular-season games and six postseason appearances. As Curry reflected on his progress, he strongly credited Fraser for offering guidance both through his workout regimen and when he nursed frustration for sitting on the sidelines.

“He keeps my head on straight,” Curry said about Fraser. “He’s always got subtle wisdom to throw my way.”

Fraser always has shooting and conditioning drills to throw Curry’s way, too. Ever since they worked together beginning in the 2014-15 season under Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Curry and Fraser formed what he called “a really good friendship” based off of humor, trust and lots of shooting.

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“They have a lot of fun together,” said Kerr, who is one of Fraser’s best friends after playing together at the University of Arizona. “They do a lot of quirky stuff. But in the end, they get their work in. It’s been a really productive dynamic for us.”

In the 2017-18 season, that dynamic significantly aided Curry with his recovery. Before his latest left knee injury, Curry missed a combined 31 regular-season games because of four separate injuries to his right ankle. Then, Fraser admired Curry’s resiliency and how he fueled his frustration into his workouts.

“Any encouragement from a trusted source is always valuable,” Fraser told The Bay Area News Group. “If I were to stop coaching and he stopped playing and we weren’t together, we would be great friends. Our friendship helped when he was coming back from injury.”

Staying positive

This partnership did not mirror a patient talking to his therapist. As Fraser mused about Curry, “I don’t need to give him any self-help books for him to read.” Nor did Fraser find the need to offer Curry any inspirational messages.

“It’s not like I’m patting him on the back and saying, ‘You’re going to be all right,’” Fraser said about Curry. “He’s a very positive person. He responds to adversity really, really well.”

Still, the Warriors star that has inspired his teammates with both his superb shooting and positive attitude had his moments.

Consider what happened on Christmas Day when Curry did not receive the present he wanted. After learning the Warriors would not clear him to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a nationally-televised game and a rematch of the past three NBA Finals, Curry had what he called his “worst pre-game workout.” Halfway through his routine, Curry stopped. He looked at Fraser and said, “I got nothing for you today.”

“I had no inspiration at all,” Curry recalled. “I was out there mad the whole time.”

Fraser chalked up the incident to Curry being “human.” Fraser also saw the episode providing a window into Curry maintaining a childhood innocence surrounding a game he cherishes.

“He loves to play. When you tell a little kid he can’t play, you don’t usually get a good result,” Fraser said. “He’s matured, so he doesn’t whine. But he’s disappointed when he can’t be out there.”

Curry nursed disappointment then as he rehabbed from the first of four right ankle injuries stemmed from stepping on an opponent’s shoe, stepping on Zaza Pachulia’s shoe and slipping on the practice court. Curry encountered another land mine on March 23 when teammate JaVale McGee accidentally collided into his left knee.

Curry then spent the next two weeks resting, waiting for the swelling to subside and occasionally shooting and dribbling while sitting on a chair.

“When adversity hits him, he doesn’t fret too much. He doesn’t worry,” Fraser said. “He tackles that kind of stuff and continues down the road. He’s an inspiration. I’m not saying that because I’m trying to be sappy, I work with him a lot or I like him. He’s truly an inspiration, not just basketball wise, but his human spirit. He’s a special guy.”

Because of those qualities, Fraser encouraged Curry to travel with the team during its last regular-season trip to Phoenix and Utah. Fraser initially enticed Curry with a round of golf before quickly realizing that would hurt his health. So instead, Fraser told Curry that ‘we just need your energy” in team meetings and on the sideline.

“It’s a radiant energy that he brings that’s natural. It’s not contrived,” Fraser said of Curry. “He doesn’t arrive and say ‘I’m back.’ He just steps onto the floor. There’s a different energy. That’s not something you can teach.”

Returning the court

One could argue you can’t really teach Curry how to shoot, either. Then again, that is part of Fraser’s job description. Then again, Fraser maintains his job involves more collaborating than advising.

Once he began modified practices on April 21 in San Antonio, Curry immediately sank 3-pointers and jumpers as he normally does. Curry had also spent the previous week completing running drills without any setbacks. The end of the workout, which was open to the media, provided countless highlight reels to suggest Curry was ready. Except he wasn’t.

“It’s like if you’re on a boat getting close to an island. You think you’re close, but you’re still an hour away,” Fraser said. “You see him starting to move and shoot and you’re thinking, ‘He’s going to play tomorrow.’ But he’s still a ways away.”

Therefore, Fraser and Curry formulated different shooting routines that would further prepare him to play in an actual game.

“The biggest thing is how to keep the workouts fresh and not monotonous,” Curry said. “He gives me challenges to lock in on and get me to the next stage in that recovery.”

Fraser has plenty of experience in keeping those workouts fresh. When he worked as a scout for the Phoenix Suns (2004-10), Fraser spent some of his offseasons working with former Suns guard and current Warriors consultant Steve Nash. It seems fitting considering Kerr has likened Curry to Nash “on steroids.” It also seemed fitting that Fraser spent his early years with Nash and subsequent time with Curry observing more than teaching.

Lately, though, Curry and Fraser have collaborated on what they call “the menu” to determine which recipe they should cook for a workout. To further the analogy, Fraser said he and Curry “went from a food truck to a small restaurant.” Their specialty: Curry’s shooting drills cover spots along the baseline, at the elbows and behind the perimeter. Yet, Curry varies the timing of his shots, how often he shoots them off the move and how quickly he runs beforehand. To determine this, Curry and Fraser do not follow a cook book. They just bake from scratch. As Fraser said, “nothing is written down; it’s all in both of our heads.”

“There’s never a set regimen to it,” Curry said. “I have certain drills I like and know that helps with different certain facets of the game. Beyond that, it’s kind of unpredictable. I like it because you don’t know what to expect every single day.”

That approach kept the workouts both exciting and purposeful. Fraser incorporated more shooting drills that required ball handling and running to build both strength and conditioning. Sometimes, Curry took his shots from the different spots along the baseline, in the post and behind the perimeter. Other times, Curry took those same shots before and after sprinting and cutting.

Through those various exercises, Curry also mixed in weight-training sessions and private training at home.

“That’s all core work and trying to get my timing, rhythm and confidence back,” Curry said. “After that, it’s just trying to see myself in the game and figure out what I need to do to get my fundamentals and timing back. He’s great at organizing workouts, figuring out a way to picture myself on the court and determining what I need to do in workouts to make that happen.”

Keeping the faith

Once the Warriors opened the doors to their practice facility on April 26th, media members saw the return of a familiar routine. Curry and Warriors forward Kevin Durant took turns taking jumpers. It might have become a daily regimen for the past two seasons. But Fraser said he still feels surreal with it all for obvious reasons.

“Incredible,” Fraser said. “Two of the best shooters in the world.”

And because Curry and Durant are considered among the NBA’s best shooters, Fraser believes the routine serves various purposes. Curry and Durant both build a rhythm. They break away from their normal routine that might cause monotony. They compete against each other, which Fraser maintains remains “even.”

During that time, Durant observed that Fraser balances between offering tactical feedback on any mistakes without overly reacting to made or missed shots. Those interactions have given Durant a unique window on what makes Curry and Fraser tick. Curry’s superb shooting stroke aside, Fraser’s coaching approach feeds into the joy Curry likes to show on the court.

“It’s a relationship that both of those guys enjoy and don’t take for granted,” Durant said. “It’s rare to have somebody you can lean on as a basketball coach. He’s teaching and talking to you about life and the game of ball. It’s pretty cool we have that.”

The Warriors also consider it pretty cool that Fraser does not want to take any credit. As Warriors guard Klay Thompson said, “he’s a great teacher and uplifts the mood. He keeps it light.”

“It’d be arrogant for me to say we’re two great basketball minds. I’d say it’s one great basketball player and two liberal minds willing to try different things,” Fraser said. “Who wouldn’t want to work with Steph Curry? It’s a privilege, but I don’t feel like I’m not capable of the task.”

Fraser also seemed capable of the task in projecting how Curry would play when he returned. After all, Fraser already witnessed Curry scoring 40 points off the bench in 37 minutes in the Warriors’ Game 4 overtime win over Portland in the 2016 Western Conference semifinals after he missed the previous 15 days with a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his right knee. Fraser also saw Curry post 38 points on 13-of-17 shooting against Memphis on Dec. 30 after he sat for 11 games because of his first right ankle injury.

“He’s, if not the best, one of the most skilled players in the world. He’s a showman and loves to play,” Fraser said. “It’s not a coincidence that when he gets back there, he’s all of a sudden Steph Curry again.”

Fraser predicted Curry would write that same script when he returned for Game 2 against New Orleans. Though Curry came off the bench and played only 27 minutes, he scored 28 points while shooting 8-of-15 from the field. In the Warriors’ Game 3 loss, though, Curry scored 19 points on only a 6-of-19 clip and looked rusty in his first start in 29 minutes. Afterwards, Fraser echoed Kerr’s contention that players often show rustiness in their second game after nursing a significant injury. Fraser then foreshadowed Curry would quickly rectify those issues in Game 4. A day later, Curry had 23 points on a 8-of-17 clip in 32 minutes.

“The magic of Steph Curry is when he has a bad game, he usually comes back and has a great game,” Fraser said. “I would never bet against him.”

Curry would not bet against Fraser, either, after leaning on him for support and shooting tips. As Curry said, “he’s my voice of reason.”

Follow Bay Area News Group Warriors beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.