Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson regularly raves about rookie Stephen Curry.
Nelson said he’s a better defender and tougher than he thought, and he loves how he passes and sees the floor.

But Curry’s outside shot, that is causing some concern for Nelson.
“All the concerns I had have been eliminated,” Nelson said, “and the one thing that I didn’t worry at all about was the shooting stroke. So he hasn’t been able to shoot the ball. But he’s one of the best shooters in college basketball for as long as he played at Davidson. We assume that’s just going to come around.”
The Warriors had four guys sit out Thursday night’s 126-92 exhibition victory over the New Orleans Hornets because of injury or illness, including center Andris Biedrins (under the weather) and forward Anthony Randolph (sore back).
Swingman Stephen Jackson — who hasn’t played at home since being suspended two games for going off on the bench against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 9 — didn’t get a chance to hear what the fans think of him now. A mild strain in his right hamstring kept him in street clothes and prevented his name from being announced and the fans from booing when it was announced.
The crowd cheered for Curry when he came off the bench late in the first quarter and took over point guard duties for starter C.J. Watson. Curry missed his first shot, a rushed 3-pointer under pressure after he picked up his dribble. But he drilled his second one — a pull-up 20-foot jumper off the dribble.
Curry finished with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting, 2-of-6 from 3-point range. He also had 10 assists, six steals and five turnovers in 38 minutes.
The Warriors were led by Anthony Morrow’s 34 points. He played all 48 minutes.
Nelson said Curry isn’t even making shots in practice. He certainly hasn’t been making them in games until against the Hornets. He entered Thursday shooting 34.8 percent from the field, including 4-for-21 from 3-point range. Only Jackson at 31.3 percent has a worst field goal percentage on the team.
“He was always a volume shooter,” Nelson said. “We’re having him think more as a point guard. That may be a factor, but I don’t think so. He feels free to take shots, and we encourage him to do it. I don’t really know any reason. He was a great shooter in college. ... All I’ve been doing is just encouraging him. Keep shooting.”
Nelson has told the Warriors’ strength and conditioning personnel about cutting back Curry’s weightlifting to see if that’s the problem.
Curry said he lifts three days a week “heavy” for an hour straight. At most at Davidson, he said, he lifted “light” twice a week. But he said he doesn’t think weights are the issue.
Nonetheless, Curry said they’ve told him to scale back on the lifting, but a plan hasn’t been put in place yet.
Curry said earlier that he thinks his struggles were based on the fact that he wasn’t used to coming off the bench. Nelson said that’s likely going to be his Warriors’ role for the immediate future.
Nelson wants Curry to play in the backcourt with Morrow because the two have good chemistry already and Curry has the vision and passing ability to properly feed Morrow, the team’s best shooter.
Curry said even if he’s on the second unit, his shot won’t be a problem for long.
“I promise,” Curry said, “it’ll be fine by Wednesday.”
The Warriors open the regular season against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Note: Kelenna Azubuike (bone bruise, left ankle) missed his third consecutive game. ... Hornets point guard Chris Paul (sick) and forward David West were out.