2023-07-20 16:35:00
Stephen Curry’s opponent in the 2023 playoffs, Austin Reaves had to defend on the Chief several times during the series. A painful experience he recently shared in the media. Spoiler, the back of the Lakers did not like. It surprises you ? We neither.
During the journey that led them to the Western Conference Finals last May, Austin Reaves and the Lakers crossed paths with the Warriors in the semifinals. If the Purple and Gold prevailed and eliminated the defending champions, their rear does not have a good memory of this series. The fault of a leader of 1m88 who runs in all directions and shoots from anywhere on the floor. Still marked by the ordeal he suffered, Reaves spoke regarding the difficulty of defending Stephen Curry at the microphone of the podcast All The Smoke.
“Honestly, it’s hell. Just the way he moves when he doesn’t have the ball. It’s their system too, it fits him perfectly. You literally can never rest.”
“I remember in games 1 and 2 I was defending on him and Klay [Thompson], and I mightn’t get a single shot. Everyone was looking at me and saying ‘Why don’t you put any shots?’ and I would say ‘I have no legs’.” – Austin Reaves for the podcast All The Smoke (via Clutchpoints)
It must be said that defending on the Chief is quite a challenge, especially for a player far from being a specialist in this area. By his ability to shoot from anywhere on the field, he is a constant threat to the opposing defense. Especially since, as Reaves reminds us, the Warriors system is built around him and made for him to receive balls in a shooting position. And for that, Curry has an impressive ability to play off-ball. A feast for the eyes, a little less for the opposing defenders.
Defend on Stephen Curry behind the screens > take the last subway pic.twitter.com/tBWm3kY3r8
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) April 21, 2019
To prevent him from receiving the ball, no other choice but to run and follow him. And not just run three seconds to do a closeout. Running for an entire possession during which Steph is able to circle the field three times to get out. Consequence of this, players sent to coal to defend on the Chief often end up exhaustedand it shows in their attacking performance.
Austin Reaves did not escape the sentence, as evidenced by his line of stats. On the series of 6 games once morest the Warriors, he turns 14.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 41.8 percent shooting once morest 16.9 points 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists at 48.1% on all of the 2023 playoffs. The Lakers rear struggled once morest Golden State, and it was far from a coincidence: he was simply exhausted by the defensive effort he was making to even limit the Chief.
It’s not a scoop, but Austin Reaves confirms it: it’s hell to defend on Stephen Curry. At 35 brushes, the Chef still exhausts children 10 years younger than him at the top of their physical form. Another aspect of his game that shows us that he is a special player.
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