No Need for Assists: Stephen Curry Does the Collapse

Sunday night, the Warriors beat the Blazers in a game that was both incredible and important. The matchup featured some of the best young guards in the league bringing out the best in one another. There were tons of highlights, but for me none will be as memorable at Stephen Curry’s insane step-back 3 midway through the fourth quarter.

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It’s unfair that a player with this much shooting talent also has a handle like that. In this case, Curry showcases breathtaking footwork and dribbling techniques that simultaneously destroy Wes Matthews’s balance and enable Curry to square his shoulders and get a great look at the basket.

Curry leads the league in both 3-point attempts and 3-point makes, but just as important as his stroke is the arsenal of moves he’s developed to help him create his own shots. Many of the league’s most efficient 3-point specialists are guys who rely on their teammates to collapse the defense and create their shots for them (think Ray Allen), but not Curry. He does his own collapsing. He’s become the best one-man catch-and-shoot offense in the NBA.

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Filed Under: NBA, Steph Curry, Kirk Goldsberry, College Basketball, Golden State Warriors

Kirk Goldsberry is a professor and Grantland staff writer.

Archive @ kirkgoldsberry