It’s been said countless times but it is still true to this day; there is almost no way to stop Steph Curry on the court. Many elite players in the NBA have tried but to no avail. But there are occasions when people can limit Steph Curry and contain the damage that he can do on the offensive end.
That is exactly what Mikal Bridges did when the Suns defeated the Warriors this week. In fact, Bridges made history, holding Steph Curry to just 11.5% effective field goal percentage, the lowest in a single game. Russell Westbrook, Fred VanVleet, Reggie Jackson, and Darren Collison all were able to hold him 14.3% respectively.
Players to lock down Steph Curry
(h/t @_Talkin_NBA ) pic.twitter.com/M4b0SgWshk
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 1, 2021
Lowest eFG% Allowed In A Game – Steph Curry
1. Mikal Bridges – 11.5% – November 2021
2. Fred VanVleet – 14.3% – November 2021
3. Russell Westbrook – 14.3% – April 2021
4. Darren Collison – 14.3% – January 2017
5. Reggie Jackson – 14.3% – March 2015
Because of Bridges’ defense on Curry, he was held to the worst shooting performance of his career when attempting 20 or more shots. Curry went 4/21 from the field and 3/14 from three. But Bridges said after the game that it was a team effort and not just his individual effort on defense.
“It’s a whole team effort. What I really did was just be aggressive and be attached with a lot of screens and a lot of slips. But it’s a whole team thing because if one guy messes up on the switch, there’s a slip or a 3 for him. It’s a team effort… I think our coverages and what the coaches put together, our schemes, it was really good and we executed it really well.”
There may be a little bit of concern if we look at the pattern here. Prior to 2021, Only 2 players had been able to restrict Steph Curry to this degree and it happened over a 5-year span. But in 2021, three players (Westbrook, VanVleet, Bridges) have been able to do so. VanVleet and Bridges even locked down Curry in the same month.
Perhaps this performance could just be attributed to an off night from Steph Curry. After all, he has been spectacular this season and is a contender to win the MVP trophy. On top of that, the Warriors are looking like championship contenders again. Regardless of the reasons, Bridges made history with his performance against Steph.
