Winless OKC Thunder host unbeaten Warriors – preview

Key matchup:

No big surprise here — Stephen Curry is the one player who the OKC Thunder will have to limit if they want to win. And, it’s not even as simple as saying let’s stop him from getting his average of 31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and 2.3 steals.

That’s because the scheme to limit Curry has far more to do with how he impacts the players around him. There is the immediate need to try to keep the ball out of Curry’s hands and not allow him to use multiple screens to gain an open shot. His defender has to keep track of him from the minute the ball is inbounded.

While many will joke Curry could pull up from 90′ and fire away the truth is he’s just as likely to shoot from 30′ to 40′ from the basket (even with the game on the line) than he is from top of the arc. Through three games he’s connected on 25 deep balls of the 61 he’s attempted for a robust 41 percent efficiency.

Yet, to ignore what Curry does to get his teammates open shots or to open the floor up would be to deny what makes him such a special player. He reached a milestone this past week collecting his 5,000th assist which sort of drives that point home.

If the Thunder double-team him then he’ll simply find the open man. So guarding Curry is about being in constant motion and also trying to cut down his passing lanes. Seriously, if you’ve never done it before making a point of watching Curry this entire game (or DVR it and play it back for that sole purpose) whether he has the ball or not. Unlike the majority of players who will stand during certain play calls Curry never is stationary. The only time he isn’t in motion is during free throws.

There are other Dubs to be worried about like Andrew Wiggins (remember him and his buzzer-beating Wolves shot?) and Jordan Poole but the reality is the Thunder won’t net the “W” unless they find a way to limit Curry.

Mark Daigneault will undoubtedly task Luguentz Dort with the majority of this assignment, however, he might be well served to mix things up. Why not put Giddey or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on him for their length? Or maybe bring in Ty Jerome or Kenny Hustle to play him physically.

The key with a great player of Curry’s ilk is to never just feed him one steady diet of defense. The more he has to adapt and change the more likely your team is to find success against him.