Mikal Bridges recently made an appearance on a Bleacher Report interview. During his 70-minute conversation with Taylor Rooks, the Brooklyn Nets star discussed several topics. At one point in the episode, Bridges detailed the horrific experiences of guarding elite offensive talents like Paul George, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Stephen Curry.
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A player like Curry is regarded to be much more lethal off the ball than with the rock in his hands. Time and again, we’ve seen the Golden State Warriors superstar constantly running around, and ultimately getting a wide-open look at the rim. While talking to Taylor Rooks, Bridges highlighted this trait of Steph.
As surprising as it may seem, the two-way star believes that defending Curry on-ball is an easier task than marking him off-ball. Calling it a “24-shot-clock job”, Bridges further explained:
“You guard any superstars, especially Steph, like, you’re locked in. Like, he got the ball, you’re like zoned in, you’re locked in… Guarding him off-ball… The second you look (away) to see what’s happening on the other side of the court, you look back, he’s gone. Like, he is gone. And everybody on his team knows it… He’s just non-stop. It’s easier to play on-ball with him… Guarding that man, that’s like a 24 shot clock (job).”
Mikal Bridges details guarding Steph Curry pic.twitter.com/5n5IBcFvGm
— human torch (@heatchecksteph) November 22, 2023
By playing off the ball, Stephen Curry allows his teammates to get free looks
Stephen Curry has cemented his legacy as one of the, if not the greatest shooters in league history. Further, Chef Curry has also mastered the art of being impactful without the ball. In fact, several analysts and enthusiasts have dubbed the two-time Most Valuable Player as the greatest off-ball player.
With the virtue of being an incredible off-ball player, Steph attracts multiple defenders on him. Since the defense wants to prevent Curry from shooting the ball, the GSW point guard tends to be double and even triple-teamed quite frequently. However, this allows his teammates to be wide open.
We saw how this defensive collapse helped Kevin Durant during his stint with the Bay Area side. Now, we are witnessing the same occur with Chris Paul. Before sharing the court with Curry, neither of these players would get such open looks at the basket.
