The Toronto Raptors have taken a 3-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors and their defense on Stephen Curry has been the key to their success.
After an incredible Game 3 performance in which he scored an NBA Finals career-high 47 points, Stephen Curry was completely shut down by the Toronto Raptors in Game 4. Let’s break down what happened and how the Golden State Warriors can counter this.
From the jump, it was clear that the Raptors weren’t going to let Curry get hot in this one. It has been a common theme throughout this series for Toronto to blitz Steph, attempting to overload him with defenders.
This is a tough task for anyone but it is made even more difficult for a player such as Curry. His lack of size makes him an easy target for physical contact and being undersized makes it more challenging for him to pass over the top of double-teams. As a result, the Raptors were able to force Steph into quite a few sticky situations.
Because of this, Curry finished Game 4 with an empty feeling 27 points on 9-of-22 shooting. The Raptors managed to neutralize every move he made and it’s time to figure out how they accomplished this.