Stephen Curry Has a Fan in Chris Paul

Warriors coach Don Nelson has gone out of his way to compare rookie Stephen Curry to a young Steve Nash. That's a nice comparison and one any young player would likely take.

But Curry's already got a mentor, thank you, and it's tough to argue with his choice: Chris Paul.

Curry and Paul, both from North Carolina, go back a few years. But this summer their friendship grew, the result of spending nearly a month working out together at various venues in the South.

"I was with him three or four weeks and we worked out every day, five or six in the morning," Curry said. "We would lift together and then for about an hour and a half we'd do on-the-court stuff with our trainer. We traveled to Orlando, New Orleans, Winston-Salem, Charlotte. Pretty much wherever he was, I followed him."

Curry first met Paul when Paul was at Wake Forest. Then Paul did some work with Curry's father, Del, who has a charity foundation. Now, the two share the same representation and a mutual respect.

And no one's got a better scouting report on Curry than Paul.

"He had to shoot the ball the whole time in college (at Davidson)," Paul said. "A lot of people have underestimated his ballhandling ability, too. He's a complete player. At times, he'll get a chance to show it. At times, he'll just be a shooter. When he has to, in the open court and stuff like that, he's great with the ball."

That was the case on Thursday night when Curry put together a 14-point, 10-assist, six-rebound night in the Warriors' final preseason game. He had the play of the evening when, in transition, he found Monta Ellis with a lovely behind-the-back feed that resulted in a layup.

When Curry was drafted there were questions about whether he was a point guard or two guard. Well, if the preseason has proven anything it's that playing the one comes pretty easily to him. He led the Warriors in assists despite not playing a ton of minutes.

"He can play either," Paul said. "He shoots it well enough to be a shooting guard but handles it well enough to be a point guard. With their team, who's to say who's what? The five-man can bring the ball upcourt."

If there has been one concern with Curry so far, it's been his inability to consistently make perimeter shots, which was supposed to be his strength. He shot just 36.6 percent in the preseason. Paul chuckled when told there was some concern in the Bay Area about Curry's stroke.

"It's preseason," Paul said. "One thing about this offense, you're going to get enough shots to find your rhythm. And this is his first year."

As for Curry, he says Paul has shown him how to be a pro.

"It's just his work ethic, what he does in the offseason to prepare," Curry said. "What's this? His fifth year? And he's working four hours every morning, going hard. I was trying to keep up. I can pick and choose some stuff that I saw him do, but nothing specific. It's about being in the gym working.