There’s no such thing as stopping Stephen Curry, you can only hope to contain him, and even that may not be enough, as we’re talking about one of the most versatile and dominant scorers ever.
You can’t give the slightest of spaces or you’ll see him pull up and pull the trigger before you can even blink, and he can also take you all the way to the basket, pull the breaks, and put you on skates in no time.
Still, some players have been slightly more effective at guarding him than others, especially in the playoffs. However, there’s nothing much you can’t do about a guy as talented and with so many tricks and ways to hurt you like Stephen Curry.
Apparently, guys that are way more physical with him and try and get under his skin are more effective at containing him one-on-one, but that doesn’t exactly translate to success when stopping the Warriors.
NBA Analysts at ESPN, Kirk Goldsberry gives you the full list of the players that tried to stop him this season and how many points he scored per 100 possessions:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByLhTBLldKo
50 Points: Clint Capela, Seth Curry
40 Points: Dennis Schroder, Damian Lillard, Rodney Hood, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Avery Bradley
30 Points: Patrick Beverley, Marcus Smart, Eric Gordon, Tyus Jones, Landry Shamet, Jamal Murray, CJ McCollum, Jalen Brunson, PJ Tucker, De’Aaron Fox
20 Points: Kemba Walker, Garrett Temple, Josh Richardson, James Harden, Ricky Rubio, Austin Rivers, Tyler Johnson
10 Points: Chris Paul, Eric Bledsoe, Mike Conley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Less Than 10 Points: Fred VanVleet
So, as you may see from this list, isn’t it incredibly ironic that his brother Seth Curry is one of the two worst guys you could have in the hardwood when trying to stop him? Perhaps he likes to give his big brother a hand.
VanVleet, on the other hand, has done a terrific job so far when guarding him in the NBA Finals. He’s been up to the task, even with Kyle Lowry struggling with foul trouble, so there’s definitely no pressure on him. Will he be able to get the job done and lock him up for the remainder of the Finals?
