Golden State Warriors: 3 Ways Toronto has neutralized Stephen Curry
By Tony Pesta
2. Box Defense
The box-and-one defense once again showed its face in Game 4. Although its appearance was very short-lived, as the Raptors did not want to run it when Klay Thompson was on the court, this defensive scheme continues to be Stephen Curry’s kryptonite.
Coming late in the third quarter during a pivotal run for the Raptors, the Dubs desperately looked to get Curry going. We can see a double pin down is set by Draymond Green and Kevon Looney. This nearly works to get Curry an open look, but the zone allows Kyle Lowry to slide over and stop the shot attempt. Lowry can do this without any hesitation as he knows Shaun Livingston is not a threat to shoot from the 3-point line.
Lowry’s close out on Curry is enough to buy Fred VanVleet some time to get back into the picture. By the time Curry gathers the pass, he already has two defenders swarming him. With not much room to operate, Curry attempts to split the defense, only to be met by Danny Green. Again, Green is able to commit to helping as he has nobody in his zone to worry about.
Due to all of these factors, Steph has no choice but to hoist up an off-balance floater in the middle of the lane. This is a situation where the Dubs might have been better off resetting the play or looking for a different scoring option, but unfortunately, they just don’t have the personnel on the court to accomplish this.