The Golden State Warriors enjoy a ton of offensive production from Stephen Curry, but should he consider posting up more often?
Stephen Curry is one of the greatest scorers in league history. In his last five seasons with the Golden State Warriors, Curry is averaging a combined 26.5 points per game. He is already a polished offensive player, but should he add more to his repertoire?
In a recent video, BBallBreakdown talked about James Harden and how adding a post-game to his attack could make life easier for him. Getting Harden closer to the basket and allowing him to conserve his energy more often is something the Houston Rockets should look to do.
The video continues to explain that while post-ups have become an inefficient attack in today’s NBA, perhaps it is only because the wrong players are posting up. Coach Nick suggests that elite guards such as Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving and even Curry should consider posting up more often.
Coach Nick and former Rockets player, Cuttino Mobley, explain that posting up allows the offensive player to rest while the defender is constantly straining to stand his ground. Posting up can slowly wear down a defender.
For Harden, posting up seems like a great idea. We have seen how his immense workload offensively can cause him to breakdown during the postseason. Conserving himself more through post-ups is a sold remedy for this issue.
It’s much easier for Harden to catch the ball on the elbow and shoot a 15-foot fadeaway rather than attempting to break down his defender from halfcourt and attempt a deep 3-pointer. As a result, posting up is something Harden should consider.
What about Curry? The two-time MVP has reached five consecutive NBA Finals and could use as much rest as possible. Posting up seems like an easy way for Curry to save energy and initiate offense from closer to the basket.
However, Curry does not have the ideal body type for this play style. Harden is hefty and strong while Curry is slim. This means that Steph might have trouble attempting to post up and actually exert more energy this way.
Truthfully, we have no idea how Curry would fair in the post. The sample size is so small that we can’t come to any conclusion on whether or not this style can be effective for the 3-point sharpshooter.
In a season where the Warriors are facing more adversity than ever, attempting to run post-up plays for Curry sounds ridiculous. Though this style seems like a good idea for other guards, Curry should stay away from this potential trend.