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When the Rockets play against the Warriors during the first round of the playoffs, all eyes are on four-time NBA champion guard Stephen Curry.
Houston (2) will face Golden State (7) in the opening round of the Western Conference postseason with Game 1 beginning April 20 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
One of the most fascinating elements to watch during the NBA postseason is how each team attempts to defend the superstars on the opposing teams.
For this series, we used all of the NBA Advanced Stats Player Tracking data available on NBA.com, dating back to 2017-18. This allowed us to get a sense of how often each player was defended by another player in the league and how well they have done during those opportunities.
This project looks at past data to predict the primary defenders each team will use. It does not account for switches, rotations, doubles, and other more advanced schemes that defenses can utilize.
This is the singular most interesting defensive question of the NBA postseason because if Stephen Curry is not shooting well, the Warriors do not have much offensive fire power.
According to our research, the Rockets have two of the four active players who have the most experience defending Curry in the NBA. Fred VanVleet (470.5) and Dillon Brooks (454.3) have both done a serviceable job when guarding the four-time champion, too.
Curry has averaged 39.1 points per 100 possessions with an effective field goal percentage of 58.9 percent since 2017. VanVleet has held him to 20.8 points per 100 with an eFG% of 37.3 percent while Brooks has held him to 22.9 points with an eFG% of 33.7 percent.
But curiously, in Houston's last matchup against Golden State, neither was Curry's primary defender. That role went to Amen Thompson, who helped lead the Rockets to victory as Curry was just 1-of-10 from the field. Here is more from John Schuhmann (via NBA.com):
"With his combination of length, athleticism and motor, Thompson may be as qualified as anybody in the league to chase Curry around for the next two weeks. Over the five-game season series, Houston was 24.6 points per 100 possessions better with the All-Defense candidate on the floor (plus-10.1) that it was with him off (minus-14.5). And if Thompson can stay attached to a player 15 years his senior, things get a little easier for the rest of the Rockets’ fifth-ranked defense."
Per our research, among those with as many possessions defending Curry as Thompson, only two active players in the league have allowed fewer points per 100.
Curry described Thompson as "relentless" and a "supreme" athlete after their matchup in April.
We will see if the Rockets go with their rising star or if they give the primary nod to someone with more experience.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Who guards Stephen Curry on the Rockets? Breaking down the options
Continue reading...
Houston (2) will face Golden State (7) in the opening round of the Western Conference postseason with Game 1 beginning April 20 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
One of the most fascinating elements to watch during the NBA postseason is how each team attempts to defend the superstars on the opposing teams.
For this series, we used all of the NBA Advanced Stats Player Tracking data available on NBA.com, dating back to 2017-18. This allowed us to get a sense of how often each player was defended by another player in the league and how well they have done during those opportunities.
This project looks at past data to predict the primary defenders each team will use. It does not account for switches, rotations, doubles, and other more advanced schemes that defenses can utilize.
Who guards Stephen Curry on Houston?
This is the singular most interesting defensive question of the NBA postseason because if Stephen Curry is not shooting well, the Warriors do not have much offensive fire power.
According to our research, the Rockets have two of the four active players who have the most experience defending Curry in the NBA. Fred VanVleet (470.5) and Dillon Brooks (454.3) have both done a serviceable job when guarding the four-time champion, too.
Curry has averaged 39.1 points per 100 possessions with an effective field goal percentage of 58.9 percent since 2017. VanVleet has held him to 20.8 points per 100 with an eFG% of 37.3 percent while Brooks has held him to 22.9 points with an eFG% of 33.7 percent.
But curiously, in Houston's last matchup against Golden State, neither was Curry's primary defender. That role went to Amen Thompson, who helped lead the Rockets to victory as Curry was just 1-of-10 from the field. Here is more from John Schuhmann (via NBA.com):
"With his combination of length, athleticism and motor, Thompson may be as qualified as anybody in the league to chase Curry around for the next two weeks. Over the five-game season series, Houston was 24.6 points per 100 possessions better with the All-Defense candidate on the floor (plus-10.1) that it was with him off (minus-14.5). And if Thompson can stay attached to a player 15 years his senior, things get a little easier for the rest of the Rockets’ fifth-ranked defense."
Per our research, among those with as many possessions defending Curry as Thompson, only two active players in the league have allowed fewer points per 100.
Curry described Thompson as "relentless" and a "supreme" athlete after their matchup in April.
We will see if the Rockets go with their rising star or if they give the primary nod to someone with more experience.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Who guards Stephen Curry on the Rockets? Breaking down the options
Continue reading...
