Kurtenbach: Steph Curry’s defense — yes, his defense — has the Warriors
back in these NBA Finals
Golden State Warriors: Start calling Steph Curry ‘Two-Way Steph.’ And if
his defensive play continues to shine against the Celtics, you might be
able to call him NBA Finals MVP in a few weeks..
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 5: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) looks to take a shot after being fouled against the Boston
Celtics in the third quarter of Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June 5, 2022. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 5: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) looks to take a shot after being fouled against the Boston
Celtics in the third quarter of Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June 5, 2022. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: June 5, 2022 at 9:55 p.m. | UPDATED: June 6, 2022 at 1:45 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/06/05/kurtenbach-steph-currys-defense-yes-his-defense-has-the-warriors-back-in-these-nba-finals/

SAN FRANCISCO — The NBA Finals are all about two-way players.

Every possession is vital in this round. The competition is ruthless.
Any weakness will be found and turned into a liability.

Can’t shoot? The ball is going to find you and that shot clock is going
to be approaching zero.

Can’t defend? You can bet you’ll be targeted.

And it won’t stop until you make it stop. Teams will run the same set 50
times in a row if it works. A championship is on the line, after all —
who cares about style points?

One-way players can make hundreds of millions of dollars, have signature
shoe deals and be in every other commercial on TV.

They might even play a few games in the playoffs, too.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 5: Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (0)
scores a 3-point basket against Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) in the first quarter of Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June 5, 2022. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

But if a one-way player is the star of a team, that squad is not
competing for a championship. They’d be lucky to sniff the Finals at all.

So it’s a good thing for the Warriors Steph Curry is a two-way star.

The Warriors won Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals the same way they won
countless games throughout their six title-round runs: They stomped
their opponents in the third quarter.

The Warriors won the third 35-14 Sunday night en route to a 107-88 win,
evening the Finals at 1-1.

Even the Warriors’ formula for winning the third in Game 2 was
tried-and-true. The Dubs locked down on defense and turned those stops
into transition offense opportunities.

Curry scored 14 of his 29 points in the frame, knocking down shots that
no one else in the NBA would dare shoot, before he went to the corner to
create space for Jordan Poole, who, despite being unplayable for the
first six quarters of the series, had six quick points (including a
half-court buzzer-beater) and a slick assist in the final 65 seconds of
the frame.

But you already know that Curry and the Warriors can score in bunches.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 5: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) shoots for a basket against Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart (36)
in the second quarter of Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June 5, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area
News Group)

Thirty-foot, off-the-dribble 3-pointers? Ho-hum, right?

What changed the game in the Warriors’ favor Sunday wasn’t just Curry’s
offense, though.

It was his defense.

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Yes, Curry was a bulwark in Game 2 and two great defensive possessions
from the Warriors’ point guard proved to be as important as any of his
3-pointers Sunday.

Let’s be clear: Curry wasn’t the anchor of the Warriors’ outstanding
defensive performance in Game 2. No, the bulk of credit needs to go to
Draymond Green, who came out from the opening tip with a score to settle
with himself after a terrible Game 1. Kevon Looney’s interior defensive
presence deserves buckets of praise as well.

But Curry did more than hold his own on the defensive end.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 5: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) defends against Boston Celtics’ Payton Pritchard (11) in the
third quarter of Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June 5, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News
Group)

If not for his lackluster defensive reputation — one he can’t seem to
shake — this wouldn’t be anything to mention. He’s been great on
defense all season. But it deserves a call-out after his performance Sunday.

With less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, it did not
look like the Warriors were going to be running away with anything but a
0-2 deficit in the Finals. Yes, a back-and-forth affair had turned the
Warriors’ way to start the third quarter, but neither team’s offense was
terribly effective. And Boston was mounting a come-back, with Jayson
Tatum’s 3-pointer with 4:30 to play putting Golden State up only six points.

After the make, Warriors coach Steve Kerr stood up from his chair on the
Dubs’ bench after the shot and implored his team with big gestures and a
yell to push the ball up the floor.

He could sense the game slipping away. He needed more energy, more
effort from his team.

He needed Curry to take over.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 5: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) gives Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole (3) a high five
after he made a basket near half court in the third quarter of Game 2 of
the NBA Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday,
June 5, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Sure enough, with Curry on the ball, two passes led to Otto Porter
getting an open 3-pointer in the corner, relieving some pressure.

But Boston wasn’t done yet, and Celtics center Al Horford found himself
defended by Curry after an offensive rebound on the subsequent possession.

Horford is 36 years old and has at least six inches and 50 pounds on
Curry. He is a future Hall of Famer because he knows what to do in
situations exactly like the one that was unfolding on the right block.

Horford put his back into Curry, took two dribbles and spun to the
opposite side of the hoop for a layup.

Only Curry didn’t bounce out of the way. In fact, he had pushed Horford
into the path of Porter on the opposite block.

Now Horford was double-teamed. Porter made a swipe for the ball while
Curry backed off the big man.

The Celtics center panicked and tried to pass the ball to a teammate
under the hoop. But there was Curry — he had read the play to perfection
and stole the pass.

The Warriors pushed the ball the other way. Two points.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 5: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) scores a 3-point basket against the Boston Celtics in the
third quarter of Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June 5, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News
Group)

On the next possession, Curry found himself in the action again. Celtics
backup point guard Payton Pritchard had the ball and Curry as his only
defender in the corner with the reset shot clock winding down from 14
seconds.

Pritchard tried to dribble around Curry for eight seconds — no dice.
Defeated, he weakly threw the ball across the court to Derrick White,
who didn’t expect the pass and traveled upon receiving it.

Curry pushed the ball up the floor off the stoppage. Two screens later,
he knocked down a 3-pointer.

And then he deflected a pass on the defensive end, allowing the Warriors
to reset their defense, resulting in an ugly Celtics 3-pointer and a miss.

Curry countered with a 3-pointer from 30 feet away.

The Warriors slipping 6-point lead had turned into an 11-0 run. In less
than 80 seconds of game time, Curry had completely flipped the game with
his offense and, more importantly, his defense.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 5: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond
Green (23) and Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) defend against
Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (0) in the third quarter of Game 2 of the
NBA Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June
5, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

This kind of defensive play wasn’t a fluke or a one-off, either. Curry
has done things like that all season — for multiple seasons now, in
fact. Say what you will about defensive analytics, but Curry was second
in the NBA in the regular season in defensive win shares, sandwiched
between No. 1, Tatum, and No. 3, Boston’s Jaylen Brown.