“The best way to guard Stephen Curry and his deep shots? Don’t!”: Advanced statistics show how the Warriors’ superstar gets makes more shots from deep when he has defenders on him

Warriors’ superstar Stephen Curry is much more lethal when he’s being guarded, compared to when he’s left wide-open

The Golden State Warriors are on a roll to start the 2021-22 NBA season. They’re 18-2 and don’t show any signs of slowing down. Stephen Curry is a supernova waiting to explode, and he’s shown us signs of the same throughout these first 20 games.

Yesterday, the Clippers and the game officiating had the Chef frustrated, and we saw a side of him we haven’t seen much of before. Steph was angry and wasn’t containing his anger.

STEPH CURRY…Gives a “T” after the three. 😂

pic.twitter.com/OQ75t6EyjU

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 28, 2021

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However, before the incident, we all saw some things over the course of the last few games that surprised us. As of late, Steph has been missing a few wide-open shots, which he earlier used to knock down with his eyes closed.

Stephen Curry makes more deep-shots when he’s guarded, rather than when he’s open

Being the best shooter in the world comes with its own benefits and disadvantages. One of the main things it ensures is that Stephen Curry is rarely ever open. The Warriors’ superstar is constantly being handled by the opponent team’s best defenders and is often double or triple-teamed. However, Steph finds ways to score despite all of that.

In the 2021-22 season, Steph is 60% when the defender is within 2 feet, and 50.9% when the defender is within 2-4 feet.

Steph is shooting 51.7% from DEEP this season when a defender is within four feet of him.

Defenses have fared better when he shoots with no contest 🤯

(h/t adammorrisongoat/Reddit) pic.twitter.com/EfaTUmGkEw

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 29, 2021

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On the other hand, Steph’s numbers drop considerably when the defender is 4-6 feet away, shooting at 35.6%. When Steph is wide open, he still shoots a lower percentage of 47.1%.

In short, the best way to guard Stephen Curry on a deep shot is to leave him wide open, and hope for the best.