It’s clear: if you want to stop the Golden State Warriors, you have to contain Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. They’re two of the best players in the game, and if they get hot, their opposition is in big trouble.
Curry exploded in the second half of Golden State’s Game 7 win at Houston Monday. So, how do the Cleveland Cavaliers plan to attempt to stop the two-time MVP? With multiple defenders. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue discussed his team’s strategy with USA Today.
“Multiple guys are gonna be thrown at Steph,” Lue said. “He’s a tough player. He’s gonna take a lot of shots, he’s gonna get shots, he’s gonna make some tough shots, so we understand that.”
The Cavs will have a new cast of characters on defense in this year’s NBA Finals, as George Hill is in and Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert are out.
“We want to be physical, stay on his body,” Lue said. “Just being alert and taking away those easy like — losing him in transition or we turn our head, he moves and he gets a three wide open or an offensive rebounds, he moves and we don’t lock into him. Those are the ones we want to take away. We just gotta make sure we take away the easy ones.”
In this year’s postseason, Curry, 30, is averaging 24.8 points per game and shooting 38.5 percent from downtown.
Finals Commence
The Warriors and Cavs outlasted tough opponents in the conference finals. Golden State came back from a 3-2 hole to best the top-seeded Houston Rockets, who went cold in the second half of Game 7. Cleveland also clawed back from a 3-2 deficit to top Brad Stevens and his upstart Boston Celtics.
The 2018 NBA Finals will commence Thursday at 9 p.m. EST. The series begins at Oracle Arena. You can watch the whole series on ABC.
