Curry vs Lebron

MisterRogers · Post #1 » by **MisterRogers** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:33 am

So we pretty much know the NBA finals is Cavs vs Warriors.

Do most people think Lebron will guard Curry? Kyrie has no chance in slowing Curry down. Maybe Shump will try defending him but probably Curry wins that battle. So then can Lebron contain Curry? Also, who on the Warriors can contain Lebron? This is a matchup for the ages! Will depend on the x factors (klay + green vs Kyrie + TT)

thizznation · Post #2 » by **thizznation** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:35 am

LeBron wont guard Curry. It will be a waste of time and energy.

Rob Diaz · Post #3 » by **Rob Diaz** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:36 am

Lebron guarding Curry would be pretty foolish, especially considering how much energy he will need to exert on offense with Irving's injury. Even if he did, guarding Curry isn't like guarding an ISO-oriented, athleticism-reliant, predictable ball-handler like Derrick Rose, guarding Curry requires potentially running through screens all over the floor.

Curry definitely has a major matchup advantage. Cavs will probably throw average defenders at him(Shumpert, Smith, etc), while the Warriors have Green, Thompson and Iguodala to throw at Lebron.

mischievous · Post #4 » by **mischievous** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:40 am

I'm guessing they'd have to put Shumpert on Curry, and Jr Smith on Klay. Lebron on Curry will not work, Lbj is a step slower on d than he was a few years back and guarding Tony Parker or Rose is nothing like guarding Curry.

MisterRogers · Post #5 » by **MisterRogers** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:45 am

So you think Green or Klay or Iggy can guard Lebron?? Kind of works both ways. Warriors have nobody that can stop Lebron unless you throw Kawhi leonard at him.

Rob Diaz · Post #6 » by **Rob Diaz** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:47 am

I think the combination of the 3 can absolutely contain Lebron. Having arguably the best defensive player in the league + 2 alternatives to keep each other fresh is going to be huge for the Warriors, not to mention Bogut on the interior.

I also don't believe an ISO-oriented team can beat a team that moves the ball unless they have a substantial advantage in talent(Thunder over Spurs in 2012, Cavs over Hawks in 2015, for example), which is far from the case in this upcoming series. It'll be last year's Finals all over again IMO.

mischievous · Post #7 » by **mischievous** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:51 am

MisterRogers wrote:So you think Green or Klay or Iggy can guard Lebron?? Kind of works both ways. Warriors have nobody that can stop Lebron unless you throw Kawhi leonard at him.

Lebron will obviously get his numbers no matter what, but yeah i think Iggy and Green could make things difficult for him. Klay on Lebron would be a joke.

Illmatic12 · Post #8 » by **Illmatic12** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:54 am

MisterRogers wrote:So you think Green or Klay or Iggy can guard Lebron?? Kind of works both ways. Warriors have nobody that can stop Lebron unless you throw Kawhi leonard at him.

They have no one who can stop him, but they can definitely limit his impact due to their great team defense.

Hawks have zero rim protection. Lebron is getting into the lane at will and creating with practically no resistance. That wouldn't happen in a series vs GSW, Klay/Green/Bogut is a much more formidable set of defenders to throw in LBJs path. Even though he can still get his own buckets vs anyone, they can limit the open 3pt looks he creates off of dribble penetration.

rockersdash · Post #9 » by **rockersdash** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:57 am

mischievous wrote:
MisterRogers wrote:So you think Green or Klay or Iggy can guard Lebron?? Kind of works both ways. Warriors have nobody that can stop Lebron unless you throw Kawhi leonard at him.

Lebron will obviously get his numbers no matter what, but yeah i think Iggy and Green could make things difficult for him. Klay on Lebron would be a joke.

It's tricky. Butler is the only real LeBron defender in the league. He can atleast slow him down a bit because of his strength and mobility. Kawhi is a close second.

Green has the strength but not the quickness to stay with him. Iggy and Barnes have the quickness but not the strength. Either way all of them have no chance with LeBron in the post.

Putting Green on LeBron would also be counter productive because the Warriors give something like the 3rd most offensive rebounds per game. Thompson will be bullying guys like Barnes for rebounds if they cross match down low.

I think it's fair to say GSW has no one to guard LeBron and Cavs have no one to guard Curry.

To answers OP's question, I actually feel like Delly will get most of the minutes guarding Curry and put Shumpert on Klay.

Brooklyn_34 · Post #10 » by **Brooklyn_34** » Sun May 24, 2015 5:29 am

LeBron will definitely guard Curry--he'll have to.

It won't be for the whole game, but don't be surprised if you see him on Curry for a few possessions. And believe it if Curry's primary defender gets in foul trouble.

DreDay · Post #11 » by **DreDay** » Sun May 24, 2015 5:38 am

LeBron can't guard Curry. Never worked out for the Heat.

bleeds_purple · Post #12 » by **bleeds_purple** » Sun May 24, 2015 5:53 am

I think it makes more sense to have LeBron guard Green (especially in small ball lineups) that way LeBron is there to corral Curry when Green sets the screen.

This is whats so frustrating about watching the Houston-GS series right now. McHale has his power forwards on Green who are getting absolutely abused by Curry when he should be putting Ariza on Green so he's there to defend Curry on the switch.

Warriors have a ton of guys to throw at LeBron - should make things interesting but with the way Bron is playing right now not even an act of God could stop him.

Interesting question for the Cavs will be where to hide Kyrie. There's no good place to put him. Curry? Hell no. Klay? Too big. Barnes. Waaay too big.

BasketballFan7 · Post #13 » by **BasketballFan7** » Sun May 24, 2015 6:23 am

Rob Diaz wrote:I think the combination of the 3 can absolutely contain Lebron. Having arguably the best defensive player in the league + 2 alternatives to keep each other fresh is going to be huge for the Warriors, not to mention Bogut on the interior.

I also don't believe an ISO-oriented team can beat a team that moves the ball unless they have a substantial advantage in talent(Thunder over Spurs in 2012, Cavs over Hawks in 2015, for example), which is far from the case in this upcoming series. It'll be last year's Finals all over again IMO.

The cavs team as it stands does not have a substantial advantage in talent over the hawks. The hawks have more talent overall. The cavs just have lebron.

So funny how the narrative changes. Not long ago the hawks were the talk of the league. 4 all stars and carroll, who will ink a big contract this summer. Meanwhile, Shumpert and smith were traded for cap space.

Well, if you Remove korver/carroll then the current cavs may have the edge. But you get the point.

GYK · Post #14 » by **GYK** » Sun May 24, 2015 9:14 am

if Lebron can keep up with Rose/Parker he can keep up with Curry. crazy stance. GSW just won't break with that being done.

Basileus777 · Post #15 » by **Basileus777** » Sun May 24, 2015 9:54 am

It'd make no sense for LeBron to guard Curry, well except on switches.

Jaivl · Post #16 » by **Jaivl** » Sun May 24, 2015 10:02 am

GYK wrote:if Lebron can keep up with Rose/Parker he can keep up with Curry. crazy stance. GSW just won't break with that being done.

"If LeBron can keep up with a bench-level has-been and an average at most PG, he can keep up with the MVP"

GYK · Post #17 » by **GYK** » Sun May 24, 2015 10:09 am

Jaivl wrote:
GYK wrote:if Lebron can keep up with Rose/Parker he can keep up with Curry. crazy stance. GSW just won't break with that being done.

"If LeBron can keep up with a bench-level has-been and an average at most PG, he can keep up with the MVP"

he keep up with Rose during his MVP season. Parker both 13/14. Curry not as fast/quick as neither. Lebron is still top tier of an athlete. Curry's man tool is the off the dribble shooting. Kawhi can handle him so can Lebron.

_Game7_ · Post #18 » by **_Game7_** » Sun May 24, 2015 10:19 am

He could slow Curry down, that's not a question, however running threw all those screens won't be worth the energy. I would have Shump shadow him every where he goes.

GYK · Post #19 » by **GYK** » Sun May 24, 2015 11:07 am

all those screens but lets not forget Rose and Parker are both screen users. the difference is staying behind the arc with an excellent pull up and attacking the paint.

Joao Saraiva · Post #20 » by **Joao Saraiva** » Sun May 24, 2015 11:09 am

I'd put JR Smith for the most time on Curry. He has active hands, plays well the passing lanes and usually contests pretty well.

I'd only put LBJ on Curry if my other defenders have failed really bad. LeBron is one of the best rebounders in the team so I don't want him out of the boards running to defend Curry outside the 3 point line in every play. He's also the best scorer and playmaker of the team. Enough is enough, you can't ask a guy to do every single thing on a team. (Apparently you can see Cle in 09 but it won't work)

If I'm Steve Kerr Iguodala and Green are the best guys to put out there defending LeBron. I'd go with Green 1st at most times, since LeBron has been really cold from outside. I believe Iguodala would contest that better, but I see Green as a better post defender.

Even with all this stuff those guys (Curry and LBJ) can't really be stopped. They just have to try to slow them down, make them drop a bit on their efficiency and make them work hard in every possession for them to get tired.