Golden State Warriors: 3 ways Stephen Curry can improve defensively

2. Make better use of his hands

During the past  three seasons, Curry recorded 474 steals. It’s arguable that most of those steals are from roaming the passing lanes and being opportunistic.

When Curry’s defending on the ball, he wants to rely on his quick hands to get more steals, which leads to the reach in fouls.  The expectation of Curry kicking his reaching habit entirely is unrealistic.

He will gamble from time to time and it’s okay.  The idea of Curry “gambling” with a purpose is possible. It means that he will have to change the way he uses his hands on defense. Instead of  clawing for the ball, an option is  Curry keeping  one hand raised and  his dominant hand low to the floor. This approach is beneficial for a reacher like Curry because it makes stripping and deflecting the ball easier.

Steals aside, this approach can also help him with blocks and deflections. He can take his weakest hand and contend shots with it, deflect or deny the pass.