How to handle a hot (Steph) Curry

Despite blowing a 20 point lead, Steph Curry and the Warriors illustrated how lethal they can be when firing on all cylinders, even without their only All-Star David Lee.

Curry was scorching hot in the 3rd quarter of game one, dropping 22 points in the space of 12 minutes. Steph’s brilliance was not just limited to one quarter alone however, he ended up with 44 points on 18-35 shooting, whilst also contributing 11 assists.

Popovich and the Spurs were unable to find a way to consistently stop Curry scoring and facilitating the ball. Defensive adjustments made by ‘Pops’ were picked apart by Curry, courtesy of his phenomenal shooting, excellent vision, and the Warriors exploitation of mismatches.

Tony Parker, one of the quicker players in the league, struggled to guard Curry in the pick and roll, off the dribble and even in isolations. Backup guard Corey Joseph also floundered when tasked with limiting Curry’s impact on the game. Many of the shots Steph made were incredibly difficult, even more so in a playoff situation, but he was aided slightly by the poor footwork on defense by Parker and Joseph, combined with their habitual slack contesting of shots.

In a second attempt to contain Curry, Popovich ordered Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard to switch over and mark him. Green and Leonard are solid wing defenders whose lengths are bothersome for most point guards in the league. This increased wing span effectively muffled one part of Curry’s arsenal, his ability to create off the dribble. But Parker’s absence in marking Steph meant that he was deployed elsewhere on the floor to mark the much taller Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes, 6’7 and 6’8 respectively.

Curry hunted out this mismatch and facilitated for his fellow wingmen who both scored 19 points whilst shooting over 50% from the field. Parker’s distinct height disadvantage meant he was unable to bother many of Thompson’s and Barnes’ shots. In stopping Curry’s glaringly obvious scoring threat, San Antonio’s weakness now shifted to the wing area, which was pounced upon by Steph’s excellent vision and ability to pass the ball.

Pops attempted to tackle the non-containable height advantage at the wing position by double teaming Barnes or Thompson when they received the ball, however this new defensive set was sharply dismantled by crisp ball movement on behalf of the Warriors and the open man was promptly found, provided with a high percentage shot.

When this tactic failed to work, San Antonio attempted to double Curry but this was again thwarted by his great vision as quick ball movement caused confusion and disarray in the Spur’s defensive ranks.

But how did the Warriors manage to lose this one with a comfortable 16 point lead entering the final three minutes of the fourth quarter? Klay Thompson fouled out just before Golden State’s 16 point lead was slashed. The absence of Thompson allowed Kawhi Leonard to guard Curry, Tony Parker to cover Jarret Jack and Danny Green to guard Harrison Barnes. This took away the Warriors glaring advantage at the wing position over Parker and allowed the Spurs to mount a late comeback.

Another reason is the fatigue of Steph Curry. He played every single minute of the entire game, 58 minutes in total. After his heroic third quarter, his fatigue became apparent in many of his shots.

Curry has shown the damage he can cause to a well drilled defense. He has given Popovich and the rest of the Spurs much food for thought as they attempt to decipher how to contain his huge impact on this exciting Western Conference Semi-Final showdown.