Golden State Warriors: 3 Ways Toronto has neutralized Stephen Curry

3. Blitz defense

One advantage the Toronto Raptors have over the Golden State Warriors is length. With players such as Kawhi Leonard, Paskal Siakam and Serge Ibaka, it’s very difficult to get a clean look in the paint. This is made even worse by the fact that the Raptors have played superb team defense throughout this series.

Take a look at this example. As Shaun Livingston sets the screen way out near the halfcourt line, Kawhi Leonard shows no hesitation in picking Curry up outside the 3-point arc. Curry does the right thing to pressure the defense by keeping his dribble alive but is met by nearly every Raptors player crashing to stop his drive. Perhaps a lob pass to Kevon Looney would have been a good move, but instead, this play ends in a turnover.

In the next clip, Curry does his best to attack the rim, but with a prolific shot blocker such as Serge Ibaka down low, it is nearly impossible to finish. Even when Steph beats two defenders off the dribble here, Ibaka’s presence is enough to deter the shot from going in. Luckily, Looney was there for the putback.

Again, Curry does an excellent job at using his body to shield off the defender and keep his dribble alive. However, Pascal Siakam is no mortal man, with an unbelievably long wingspan, Siakam is able to reach over the top of Curry and swat his shot into the stands. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for a sneaky contest from Leonard, who forces Curry to take an extra second before releasing his layup attempt.

The Raptors made a conscious effort to funnel Curry into the paint and their defense swallowed him up every time.