The Golden State Warriors won the championship last season. They were on an up-and-down ride in the regular season this year with an underwhelming 44-38 record. But just like always, the Warriors made up for their lackadaisical regular-season play by eliminating the impressive young Sacramento Kings in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
How do the Warriors emerge victorious time and time again? In the middle of that superb offense and tight-knit team chemistry is Stephen Curry.
This guy has been dubbed as one of the greatest to ever play the game. He has revolutionized the game and inspired teams to take more 3-point shots. He’s arguably one of the—if not the best off-ball player who move around and keep everyone on their feet.
Who can stop Steph Curry? That’s a question someone asked him in the press conference following their Game 7 win over the Kings where he dropped 50 points.
His answer: “Hopefully, we’ll never find out.”
Everyone is aware that Curry is dangerous from literally anywhere on the court—and even he knows it. So, how can you stop the human flamethrower that is Stephen Curry?
Here’s a realistic answer: you can’t. But, you can try to slow him down.
The most interesting part of the Lakers-Warriors series is the Lakers’ defense versus the Warriors’ offense. The Warriors are dozens of steps ahead in terms of rotation, passing, screening, and shooting compared to Memphis. The Lakers need to make a lot of adjustments to keep themselves in the games.
With Curry, the Lakers can put different bodies on him like Jarred Vanderbilt, Austin Reaves, and Dennis Schroder. Despite the expected one-on-one lockdown on him, defending Curry is a five-person effort. Everyone on the floor must be aware of where he is at all times. If you let him go out of your sight even for just a split second, he can pull up or pass the ball to the open man.
The Lakers need to make changes to their drop defense, letting the bigs play higher up and closer to the level of the screens. They can make a run for him at most times but the Warriors already know how to take advantage of scenarios when Curry is attracting all the defensive attention.
Stephen Curry Pick-and-Rolls Vs. Lakers
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 5, 2023
Game 1: 22 in 38 minutes
Game 2: 24 in 30 minutes
Simple but effective adjustment by Warriors to again ramp up Steph's on-ball usage. And still can do it even more: per @SecondSpectrum, Curry ran 42 P&R in 38 minutes in Game 7 vs. Kings. pic.twitter.com/d8ZDPLsQvD
Curry never stops moving and the Lakers are going to have a hard time chasing. Here’s an idea of how Curry impacts the game even when he’s not holding the ball.
Curry's gravity opening up shooters!
— John Jablonka (@JohnJablonka_) May 4, 2023
Reaves is preventing Curry from using the screen. He then decides to cut along the baseline & that causes confusion with Gabriel also sticking with him
That opens up Green in the corner
Curry's off ball movement>>> pic.twitter.com/cJyn5mPrCc
The Lakers have the talent to potentially defend Curry well in the series. Vanderbilt has the height advantage and the athleticism to hinder Curry from getting his looks. Schroder is fast and can agitate Curry’s ball-handling even from the half-court. Reaves can also chase him down when going around screens and looking for his spots.
With Davis, the Lakers can rely on him to guard the paint and concentrate more on the shooters like Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and Klay Thompson. Other than Davis, James has good defensive instincts to track the ball down, and he has Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura to stop people from penetrating down the line.
We need to acknowledge, however, that the Warriors are a good shooting team. Even if they can’t go near the rim, you can expect them to shoot from long distance. That is the department the Lakers have been lacking all season long.
The Warriors are ranked first in 3-pointers made and attempted and second in percentage. They can generate 3s, and the Lakers are going to have to learn how to stop that especially if they can’t answer back with their own 3-point shots.
With Curry on the floor, it’s not only his 3-point shots you have to worry about but also his assists. Whenever he moves, everyone moves. His shooting is what makes him a threat but his teammates know how to capitalize with layups, cuts, and open catch-and-shoot 3s.
You can’t really stop Curry but the Lakers can try. They have the personnel to do so, and they have to go all in every second of the game to limit his production and impact. If they don’t lock the Chef down, it’s going to be tough for the Lakers to beat them in this series.
