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“Stephen Curry is a nightmare to guard”: Erik Spoelstra explains why the Warriors legend has become the greatest offensive weapon in the NBA today

Amulya Shekhar
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"Stephen Curry is a nightmare to guard": Erik Spoelstra explains why the Warriors legend has become the greatest offensive weapon in the NBA today

Erik Spoelstra spills the beans on what makes Stephen Curry such an elite offensive weapon in the modern NBA after the Heat’s win last night.

One of the greatest, yet least noticed things about Stephen Curry on the NBA court is his unreal conditioning. The man is a machine in perpetual motion. So even on his worst nights, he’s morphing defenses out of shape with his movement.

And it’s practically impossible to stay in front of him. Curry’s herky-jerky moves without the ball and his GOAT-level ballhandling allows him to get practically any look he wants.

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If you manage to navigate the umpteen screens the Warriors throw at you, stay in front and make him take a contested step-back 3-pointer, it’s still a shot with a 40% chance of swishing through the net.

Being the greatest shooter of all time brings all kinds of coverages your way. But with his insight, intelligence and ability to navigate them with his skillset, Steph continues to evolve further and further as a basketball player.

Erik Spoelstra raves about Stephen Curry for his world-class conditioning

The Warriors narrowly lost to the Heat (116-109), despite Curry dropping 36 on the night yesterday. Erik Spoelstra must have been at his wit’s end trying to counter his shooting threat, and he revealed as much in the post-game presser:

“What a nightmare, isn’t he? I mean, what do you do? His level of skill. His conditioning level is probably the thing that doesn’t get talked about enough.”

“He’s constantly on the move. He never stands still. He can do it with the ball [or] without the ball. Just a remarkably skilled basketball player.”

Also Read: “Kyrie Irving giving the offense to James Harden is the biggest development with the Nets”: Zach Lowe bullish about Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and co gelling together

Curry may go incandescent, berserk, bonkers – whichever phrase you want to use – but the Warriors are still on the outside looking in at a playoff berth. It promises to be an interesting end to the season, whichever way the Warriors want to end it.

About the author

Amulya Shekhar

Amulya Shekhar

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Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically.

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