Steph Curry may be unstoppable but is there another way to defend him

[Tha_Mac]

instead of switching pick and rolls and having C's or PF's guard him 1 on 1 25 ft. away from the rim? After watching the WCF's and constantly seeing Ibaka, Kanter and Adams having to guard the player with the best shot and handles in the league I was at how this can be allowed by coaches.

I'm thinking that maybe blitzing Steph on his pick and rolls and trapping him, forcing the ball out of his hands with your defense tied together and rotating might be better than just switching. I remember the Heat during the Heatles era doing this very effectively. Of course this also takes effort and dedication by your defense but then again isn't that what defense is all about?

I'm hoping that the Cavs find a better way to play Steph off the pick and roll instead of just switching and leaving a Frye, Love or Thompson to guard him above the 3pt line. If the Cavs switch the pick and roll they have no chance to beat the Warriors. Trapping it will get the ball out of Steph's hands and force Green, Iggy, Barnes and others to make plays while of course staying attached to Klay.

I'll take my chances with those guys making the plays instead of letting the unanimous MVP go 1 on 1 with a big man on the perimeter. What are you're thoughts about the switching of the pick and roll vs Curry and how would you defend it?

 

[Sterling Archer]

You cant guard Klay and Steph with length. You need athleticism to temper their range. Adams and Ibaka gave too much space for two guys that have the best range and quickest releases in the game. Had OKC bigs on skates.

 

[Tha_Mac]

For the basketball aficionados your thoughts or how you would play it?

@Malta @Gil Scott-Heroin

 

[FTBS]

Guarding Steph was not OKCs issue. They actually did a pretty good job on all the humans on that team. Even with Steph and Klay being otherworldly, the Thunder had multiple chances and it was their own superstars on offense that did them in.

 

[Tha_Mac]

Guarding Steph was not OKCs issue. They actually did a pretty good job on all the humans on that team. Even with Steph and Klay being otherworldly the Thunder had multiple chances and it was their own superstars on offense that did them in.

But this is not about OKC giving the series to GSW this is about how Steph Curry is defended. I remember last year during the WCF's as well Dwight, TJones and Josh Smith out on the perimeter guarding Steph. There's got to be another way than having a big man that far from the rim guarding a player that skilled 1 on 1.

 

[DaRock]

You saw what happened to the Heat when they blitzed the Spurs....they got spread out and the Spurs completely ran them off the floor...the same would happen in this series ESPECIALLY considering the Heat had better defenders than the Cavs....Steph and Klay are gonna get their shots off regardless..one of the main reason why OKC played so well was because of the switching which didn't allow Draymond to be the play maker and get the ball moving and completely opening up the Warriors offense...you have to stay up on Klay/Curry on the right hand side and force them to drive and shoot 2's( easier said than done)

 

[FAH1223]

instead of switching pick and rolls and having C's or PF's guard him 1 on 1 25 ft. away from the rim? After watching the WCF's and constantly seeing Ibaka, Kanter and Adams having to guard the player with the best shot and handles in the league I was at how this can be allowed by coaches.

I'm thinking that maybe blitzing Steph on his pick and rolls and trapping him, forcing the ball out of his hands with your defense tied together and rotating might be better than just switching. I remember the Heat during the Heatles era doing this very effectively. Of course this also takes effort and dedication by your defense but then again isn't that what defense is all about?

I'm hoping that the Cavs find a better way to play Steph off the pick and roll instead of just switching and leaving a Frye, Love or Thompson to guard him above the 3pt line. If the Cavs switch the pick and roll they have no chance to beat the Warriors. Trapping it will get the ball out of Steph's hands and force Green, Iggy, Barnes and others to make plays while of course staying attached to Klay.

I'll take my chances with those guys making the plays instead of letting the unanimous MVP go 1 on 1 with a big man on the perimeter. What are you're thoughts about the switching of the pick and roll vs Curry and how would you defend it?

And what happened to those Heatles last we saw them?

Now imagine Golden State

 

[Tha_Mac]

You saw what happened when to the Heat when when they blitzed the Spurs....they got spread out and the Spurs completely ran them off the floor...the same would happen in this series ESPECIALLY considering the Heat had better defenders than the Cavs....Steph and Klay are gonna get their shots off regardless..one of the main reason why OKC played so well was because of the switching which didn't allow Draymond to be the play maker and get the ball moving and completely opening up the Warriors offense...you have to stay up on Klay/Curry on the right hand side and force them to drive and shoot 2's( easier said than done)

Good point about the ball movement being stopped by the 1 on 1 play but the Heat also beat the Spurs using the trapping strategy in 2013.

 

[Tha_Mac]

And what happened to those Heatles last we saw them?

Now imagine Golden State

Good point about the ball movement being stopped by the 1 on 1 play but the Heat also beat the Spurs using the trapping strategy in 2013.

 

[Black_Panther_JS]

he's def not unstoppable
he was shyt the first 4 games of the series

 

[Bone$]

slippery slope,, traditionally thats why everyone considered green the playmaker cause often on that curry green pnr, if u trap curry, green then has a 4 on 3 dive to the basket, with shooters on both wings....cavs did a lot of switching last year, and tristan was somewhat commended for his defense on steph after the switch..

 

[BmoreGorilla]

The league has tried everything this year. The only hope to defend him is if he goes cold

 

[FAH1223]

@Tha_Mac

The Heat beat the Spurs in 7 games in 2013, yes. But they also let Danny Green break an NBA Finals record for 3s.

In 2014, the Spurs were a better team and had even more shooters. Diaw was hitting 3s as a stretch 4, Patty Mills was in shape, Ginobili wasn't turning it over like a mad man.

The weaknesses from 2013 were magnified even greater.

Golden State has more than enough shooting and cutting to the basket players to counter a blitz trapping scheme. And they have multiple ball handlers like the Spurs have.

 

[FTBS]

But this is not about OKC giving the series to GSW this is about how Steph Curry is defended. I remember last year during the WCF's as well Dwight, TJones and Josh Smith out on the perimeter guarding Steph. There's got to be another way than having a big man that far from the rim guarding a player that skilled 1 on 1.

But the bottom line is beating them right? The Thunder's strategy allowed them to be in position to do that. The key to having a chance against GSW is not allowing the others to get going in addition to Steph showing out. You start blitzing him and he is just gonna find the open man, most likely Draymond or Iggy, and they will either take it to the cup or pass it to another open man. He scores on players of all shapes and sizes and ability levels all the same and does so from 30 feet out like it's nothing. You just gotta accept that he is gonna get his and focus on trying to beat the team.

 

[Tha_Mac]

The league has tried everything this year. The only hope to defend him is if he goes cold

Yea I know but having a big man on him has to give Curry even more confidence than he already has which is crazy to think about. He as them at his will out there and that allows for driving to the rim. At least if you get the ball out of his hands you force other players to make those shots or take it to the rim or make passes.