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.
Try only focusing on Jarred Vanderbilt's defense on Steph Curry during this vid. It covers every possession, starting at one timeout and ending at another.
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 3, 2023
Vando was glued to Curry for 94 feet through the whole stretch until Curry checked out. Zero breaks. pic.twitter.com/zMIsPuTKu1
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.
Some other smart things that the Lakers are doing with Vanderbilt are:
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 3, 2023
a) using Vando as a screener, putting Curry into the action on defense a lot
b) Having Vando corner crash a ton, forcing Curry to box out
Good gameplan by the Lakers. Vando is tiring Curry out to the max. pic.twitter.com/cPzQJXDtWE
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.
