Stephen Curry getting loose vs. Celtics: Anomaly or adjustment?

Stephen Curry exorcized some demons with his 49-point explosion against the Boston Celtics on Jan. 27. Was his success against his greatest challenger temporary, or a sign of things to come?

As is the case for all transcendent scorers, there is no “Stephen Curry Stopper” in the NBA.

Kawhi Leonard has given him problems from time to time. Giannis Antetokounmpo was a puzzle initially. Kevin Love didn’t let him drive once. Ultimately, the Golden State Warriors point guard has vanquished them all.

Truly denying a superstar at Curry’s level has to be a collective effort. That’s why Brad Stevens’ Boston Celtics have been able to do so better than any other team since 2015.

It’s also why Curry hung 49 points on them in their most recent matchup, a 109-105 Warriors win on Jan. 25.

Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder were missing from the “collective” that held Curry to 40.2 percent shooting and forced him into 5.8 turnovers across the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. So was Marcus Smart, who helped hold Curry to nine points on 3-of-14 shooting this past November.

As for the “effort” component, it clearly was not up to the normal standard of a Stevens-led squad. Kyrie Irving has made a name for himself dying on screens, but you’d expect the Finals-like atmosphere in Oracle — and, you know, the fact that he’s guarding the most accurate, quickest-release shooter ever — to motivate him. It didn’t, as Warriors bigs easily opened up their point guard all night.

More from Golden State Warriors

When he came off those screens, no Boston forward or big man seemed to react fast enough in stepping up. Al Horford, Marcus Morris, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were all guilty of this on at least one occasion.

Terry Rozier and Shane Larkin competed harder, but it didn’t matter. Once Curry started cooking, he just saw Larkin and Rozier as ingredients on his chopping board. He embarrassed each guard with multiple step-back jumpers, and ran Rozier into a Draymond Green screen before draining the game-winning 3.

That’s why saying that it takes a “collective effort” to stop Curry is not cliched coach speak. It’s real. One dude giving effort is not enough. Neither is two. Not against Curry, who moves so much off the ball and has so many threats around him that he can win a game solely by attacking switches. Hell, he can win a playoff series this way. He can sweep one.

The reason Boston is seen as Golden State’s toughest potential Finals matchup is its ability to avoid that scenario. It has a ton of switchy dudes who play hard and can cover ground. It is the only team that has been able to deny Curry at all costs, but cover its backside well enough to not get burned by Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and co.

One might look at the Jan. 27 box score and think Stevens changed his approach. Curry’s huge night came on 24 shots and 10 free throws, compared to just 18 shots and seven free throws for Durant and 12 and one for Thompson. Unfortunately for Boston, he didn’t. Celtics defenders tracked and swarmed Curry throughout the contest, but the two-time MVP simply transcended this time.

If anyone changed their approach, it was Curry’s teammates. They met Boston’s trademark off-ball physicality with their own, setting more aggressive screens to free their cutting point guard. Curry himself was also more physical, throwing off-ball defenders aside with offensive fouls that went uncalled.

Of course, there is no denying the relief he felt without Bradley or Smart taking away his airspace. After the game, Green brushed off the notion that Smart’s absence was major factor, which was not entirely fair. However, Green is ultimately more right than wrong. Stopping Curry is not about one guy. It never can be.

Should these teams meet in June, things will be different. Even more grabbing off ball will be allowed (though Curry could have shot almost twice as many free throws as he did the other night). Boston will get better effort, and hopefully be at full strength. If that goes as far as to include a productive Gordon Hayward, the Curry-stopping collective will be that much stronger, as will the Durant/Thompson-containing back end. Curry is not going to average 49, or 39 or probably even 29 in a series against these guys.

For now, the Celtics deserve the benefit of the doubt. Curry getting loose was more anomaly than adjustment. But they will be serious underdogs no matter what Curry does. Even over the two seasons in which they forced him into dreadful shooting and plentiful turnovers, they went just 2-2. If these teams are even when Curry is dreadful, what happens when he goes off just once?

Next: 2017-18 Week 16 NBA Power Rankings

Given how quickly Curry combusts, and how impossible he is to extinguish once he does, that seems like an inevitability.

Home/Golden State Warriors