Having lost back-to-back games to now trail 2-1 against the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals, the Golden State Warriors need to make some adjustments if they hope to turn the tide in the series. Here is Part 3 of 3…
- Bench Unit Needs To Outplay Grizzlies Second Unit On Both Ends
- Double-Teaming Zach Randolph And Collapsing On Marc Gasol
- Stephen Curry’s Return To MVP Form Must Start With Limiting Turnovers
Stephen Curry’s Return To MVP Form Must Start With Limiting Turnovers
The playoffs are where legends are made and we’ve yet to see Stephen Curry recapture the “Chef Curry” magic we saw in Game 3 of the opening round against the New Orleans Pelicans.
To the Grizzlies’ credit, they’ve largely taken Curry out of the flow, sending their big man out to bother him as much as possible on the pick-and-rolls at the perimeter, with their long arms.
“We’ve faced that all year in terms of people jumping out on Steph on the high screens and double-teaming him,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr yesterday at media availability at the team hotel. “What we’ve done all year is move the ball on and get it out of Steph’s hands and then start the defensive rotations that have to come when you have two on the ball.”
In fact, Curry made a particularly crippling turnover during the 2nd quarter, after head coach Steve Kerr had subbed out all the bench players save for Andre Iguodala in place of Harrison Barnes, yet Iguodala and four of the five starters were on the floor when the Grizzlies widened a 27-20 deficit into an insurmountable 38-24 gap:
Turnovers hurt the Warriors again as a Curry swing pass to Draymond got deflected, Allen missed the layup on a 3-on-1 against Steph on the fastbreak, and Jeff Green made the easy putback.
It’s not the sheer number of turnovers — he’s had “only” 7 the past two games — that has impaired Steph’s ability to become “Chef Curry”, it’s the manner in which they’ve been committed. His turnovers have largely been passes that were deflected due to some kind of ball pressure and lurking of passing lanes, which typically yield a fastbreak for the Grizzlies that have the Warriors outnumbered.
This kind of “gang tackling” can have an effect on the human psyche, as the 3-on-1 was a particularly embarrassing play and a difficult sequence for Warriors fans to digest: three athletic Grizzlies attacking a helpless back-pedaling Curry, even as Allen lived up to his reputation and squandered the first layup attempt.
Later in the 2nd half, Curry would airball a three-point attempt, missing the rim by about a yard.
Still, Kerr wouldn’t admit that his star was rattled.
“The guy, he’s fearless. He has as much confidence as anybody. And it’s something where… other people might shy away from shots, Steph’s inclination is probably to take more,” Kerr said. “I don’t think this is a confidence issue at all. I think it’s more… let’s figure this out. Let’s get better shots. Let’s be more patient. Let’s use our fundamentals.
“Steph has a big burden on his shoulders. He’s the MVP of the league and their defensive focus is on him. We’ve got to do a better job of helping free him up and he’s got to do a better job of trusting his teammates.”
Chances are, those fundamentals include protecting the ball better, but if he can get the ball when Memphis is even a little bit off kilter, that can go a long ways in creating the illusion that he’s got the ball on a string and make the Grizzlies feel like they’re trapped in an episode of Tom & Jerry.
As far as the shooting is concerned, Curry addressed that with ESPN’s Marc Stein today:
“Looking at all the shots I’ve taken — which I have looked at all of them — if I make the ones that are open, the ones that I normally make, it changes the narrative a little bit. I’m missing wide open shots and when you take tougher ones that are contested, that you’re probably going to have to make in the playoffs just because they’re a great defensive team,” Curry told Stein, “it just kind of amplifies things a little bit more.
“I’m going to keep shooting the way I have. I’ve got to look for more consistent open shots, rely on my teammates to get the ball moving a little more, but my confidence never wavers and hopefully that’ll carry some good weight in Game 4 knocking down some shots.”
So the last adjustment the Warriors have to make is really all on their MVP. But it should be that way. Leaders and superstars are supposed to leave their imprint on the game and be better than everyone else on the court.
There are certainly a lot of scenarios that could play out. Courtney Lee scoring 25 points is something that could happen if the Warriors double-team the Memphis bigs. As long-time Warriors analyst Matt Steinmetz said, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the Memphis bigs are in foul trouble and Warriors’ bigs are not.
But perhaps the hardest thing to imagine is Stephen Curry not turning into “Chef Curry” tonight.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via USA Today)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
