Golden State Warriors: 5 takeaways from Game 2 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

4. Curry key defensively…

Klay Thompson allows Curry to hide on defense. Because of this, Curry will never be considered an elite two-way player, and rightly so.

However, his reputation as a guy who can just help off bad players and come up with cheap steals sells him short. Curry rarely pays for his gambles, which is the sign of a good gambler. He rarely gets beat off the dribble, battles hard in the post and is an elite rebounder at his size.

In Game 2, he had eight defensive boards (10 total) and shut down J.R. Smith just as he did in Game 1. When he was switched onto Irving, he contained him, and his hands were active in passing lanes (though he was only credited with one steal).

Curry will never be a stopper, but his defensive impact is relevant. If Irving dug in on both ends the way Curry does, for example, this would be a more competitive series thus far.