How did Lakers slow down Warriors' Stephen Curry? Jarred Vanderbilt is key to LA's defensive success

Stephen Noh

How did Lakers slow down Warriors' Stephen Curry? Jarred Vanderbilt is key to LA's defensive success image

For a normal player, 27 points in a playoff game is considered a wildly successful night. But when a team holds Stephen Curry to that total — on 10-of-24 shooting with five turnovers, by the way — that's a big win.

The Lakers were able to keep Curry in check and take Game 1 by a score of 117-112 thanks to a solid game plan. Jarred Vanderbilt got the primary assignment, and he did a tremendous job on Curry.

MORE: Anthony Davis makes Lakers history with monster 30-20 game

Jarred Vanderbilt's job: Tire Stephen Curry out

Vanderbilt is known for his defensive prowess. He's a lanky and athletic defender that will out-hustle everyone else on the floor. That's the perfect type of player to guard Curry, who gets many of his shots off movement when his defender falls asleep away from the ball.

Vanderbilt was extremely on top of his assignment, shadowing Curry all over the court and denying him any opportunity to get an easy pass.

Not many players with Vanderbilt's 7-1 wingspan have the speed to keep up with Curry. The two-time MVP seemed surprised at times that Vanderbilt was able to get a piece of the ball.

Once, Vanderbilt came from behind Curry to block his floater. And on the opening possession of the game and again in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt used his long arms to deflect a Curry pass.

Vanderbilt was also aided by having Anthony Davis patrolling the paint behind him. Vanderbilt spent much of the game top-locking Curry, staying between Curry and the ball to prevent him from coming off screens. If Curry tried to cut backdoor to the basket, then Davis was right there with the help.

Vanderbilt is a limited offensive player — he scored eight points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field in Game 1 — but he used his time on offense to try and tire Curry out even more.

The Lakers would have Vanderbilt set screens, forcing Curry to help out on pick-and-rolls. Vanderbilt is also a great offensive rebounder and crashed the glass hard throughout the game, making Curry expend a ton of energy trying to box him out.

Dennis Schroder defended Stephen Curry well

The Lakers had the added benefit of being able to give Vanderbilt some breaks. When Vanderbilt got taken off that assignment, Schroder was right there using many of the same techniques.

Schroder maintained contact with Curry, keeping an arm on him most times to track him through his cuts and top-locking him to prevent him from receiving passes.

Warriors' fourth-quarter adjustment: Let Stephen Curry cook with the ball

Curry saved his best for last, scoring 14 points on 10 shots in the fourth quarter and adding two assists.

The Warriors had been trying to get Curry the ball off cuts and movement, but they allowed Curry to bring it up and run more pick-and-rolls late in the game. While Vanderbilt was good at staying with Curry away from the ball, he struggled when forced to stay in front of Curry.

The Warriors also set some screens very high up the floor. That gave Curry a ton of space to get downhill with the ball and collapse the defense.

Rather than double-teaming on these ball screens, the Lakers had Davis playing a somewhat conservative defense. That gave Curry enough room to get his pull-up 3-pointers off.

Lastly, the Warriors targeted D'Angelo Russell a ton down the stretch. Russell is not nearly as good of a defender as Vanderbilt or Schroder. Curry was able to score on Russell more easily.

The Warriors have run more ball screens with Curry in recent years. That may be the adjustment that they go to as the series wears on. Look for them to target Russell more in Game 2 on Thursday.

 

Stephen Noh

Stephen Noh Photo

Stephen Noh started writing about the NBA as one of the first members of The Athletic in 2016. He covered the Chicago Bulls, both through big outlets and independent newsletters, for six years before joining The Sporting News in 2022. Stephen is also an avid poker player and wrote for PokerNews while covering the World Series of Poker from 2006-2008.