Sixers Aren't Concerned About Seth Curry's Recent Struggles

Seth Curry hasn't looked great lately, but his head coach and teammates are far from concerned.

Seth Curry came to the Philadelphia 76ers to become Joel Embiid's JJ Redick. Considering Curry has hit 44-percent of his three-point shots since coming to the NBA, that didn't seem like a tall task for the veteran guard.

Through the first stretch of games, Curry looked better than ever with the Sixers. In eight games, he was collecting a career-high of 17 points-per-game while averaging 59-percent from three.

But then a setback occurred, followed by another. Curry rolled his ankle during the January 6 matchup against the Washington Wizards. And on the very next night, he found out he tested positive for COVID-19.

For the next seven games, Curry sat out. He finally returned on January 22 to face the Boston Celtics. For the last seven games, Curry has been present. Unfortunately, he hasn't looked the same since missing a notable chunk of time.

“It’s been tough,” Curry admitted on Tuesday following practice. “[I've had] little nagging injuries here and there, I’ve been banged up a little bit. Some of the big remnants are also just trying to get my energy all the way back. Some days I feel good; some days, I’m just sluggish, and it’s like I got to take a nap all day, so it’s weird, but I’m grateful to be able to get up and get on the court every day and play.”

Since returning, Curry has averaged just 31-percent from beyond-the-arc. And he's only managed to put up 9.8 points-per-game. Heading into Wednesday night's matchup against the Indiana Pacers, the veteran guard was hoping to bounce back. However, the struggles continued.

In 28 minutes of action, Curry didn't contribute any points to the Sixers' final score. During the first half, he didn't get a single shot up. In the second half, he took just three field-goal attempts. None of which went in.

While Curry's cold streak is a bit concerning, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers is hardly panicked. “I’m not worried about guys. It’s a long season," Rivers said. "Like, Tobias Harris for the first three games, everyone thought he had forgotten how to play. Shake Milton has had his moments. We have so many options, and I just think guys get it going organically. I don’t think you should ever try to force guys to get it going."

The good news is, even though Curry is struggling, the Sixers managed to win six out of their last seven games since Curry's return. While his ability to knock down shots is crucial, Rivers doesn't see a need to complain about Curry's struggles while everybody else around the veteran guard is doing their thing.

"Seth is still trying to come back from the virus, and you know he missed a lot of stuff," the coach continued. "So, I’m not that concerned by that, if you want me to be honest. I like our play. I look at his minutes on the floor, and I think he had zero attempts at halftime, but we had 64 points, and we were shooting 55-percent. There’s going to be nights like that, so it didn’t concern me much at all.”

Veteran forward Danny Green has been around the NBA for quite a while now. Being in the league for over 10 years, Green has seen his fair share of slumps personally and from his teammates. So, when it comes to seeing Seth Curry struggle to get hot again, Green views the situation the same as Rivers.

“He’s been in this league for a long time. You see a lot of players, even great players struggle," Green mentioned on Wednesday. "Even though Seth didn’t shoot well, he was plus-18 on the floor tonight. We know that regardless of whether some guys are shooting well or not, we’re gonna have other people that can score for us. Guys can still bring other things to the table. Seth is still going to space the floor. They still have to react and respect him, so they can’t just rotate off of him, and he’s giving Joel space to work, Ben and Tobias space to work. He’s a threat regardless.”

Sooner or later, Curry will have to get it going to remain within the team's starting lineup. While his mini-slump isn't ideal, the 76ers aren't all that concerned for two reasons. One, Curry is a veteran -- so he knows what he has to do to bounce back. And two, the 76ers are still winning. A contributing Curry could put them in a better position, but the team's supporting cast around the MVP candidate Joel Embiid is getting the job done.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_