There aren’t many players in the NBA who can truly say they got the better of Steph Curry when guarding the Golden State Warriors superstar. Oftentimes, Curry is so elusive defenders find themselves chasing his shadow rather than out-thinking his next move. Unlike most shooters, Curry provides endless movement when off-ball while also operating as a small screener to generate additional mismatches.
In a recent episode of ‘Podcast P,’ Paul George recalled guarding Curry as he went for 50 points against the Los Angeles Clippers last season. George also shared how the Clippers gameplan had been ‘torn up’ before the end of the first quarter.
“It is a spectacle, man, to see him do that, from that range,” George said. “The difficulty of the shots. Even when you’re playing against him, it’s like, ‘oh my gosh.’ We was talking about it because we played them, and he went for 50 against us this season. But I thought I was going to lock him up that game. That was my assignment…I think, whatever our game plan was, we were scratching that s*** by the middle of the first quarter.”
Curry will be entering his age-35 season in October but has shown no signs of slowing down. The veteran guard ended last season averaging 29.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists on 42.7% shooting from 3-Point range and 49.3% shooting from the field.
Golden State has also ensured Curry will have some additional help at the guard spot in the upcoming season, adding Chris Paul and Cory Joseph to the rotation. As such, Steve Kerr may look to manage Curry’s minutes a little tighter than in previous seasons as he looks to keep his franchise player fresh for when the postseason rolls around.
Nevertheless, Curry will likely have some more big scoring nights in the upcoming season as he continues to show the world why he’s a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
