The Rockets Should Expect a Consistent Curry

Fans of the Houston Rockets during the late 2010s may have had flashbacks of Stephen Curry hitting back-breaking 3-pointers to end Houston's hopes of winning. Curry hit several difficult 3-pointers near the end of possessions to stifle any progress by the Rockets.

Houston has seen this story against the Golden State Warriors several times throughout the years. Curry has done the same thing to every other team in the NBA, as the Hall-of-Fame player has made a name by dominating teams from long range. Jimmy Butler adds another tough shot-maker to the Warriors' arsenal.

The Rockets are familiar with the difficulties of facing the Warriors. Houston hoped it had figured something out against Golden State in their last matchup against each other. The Warriors lost after an intense defensive effort by the Rockets that held Curry to just three points on a single shot. Curry made that shot near the end of the first half on a difficult look from deep range.

It would be poor planning by the coaching staff to expect Houston's defense to have the same impact on Curry throughout the series. Curry scored 31 points on high efficiency as the Rockets struggled to slow down the Warriors' offense. Butler also added 25 points to Golden State's offensive efforts.

Curry's three-point game against the Rockets near the end of the regular season was an extreme outlier for his standard, but there were lessons Houston can pull from to bring into the series.

Amen Thompson did a strong job defending Curry during the Warriors and Rockets' final regular-season matchup. He had a more difficult time against Curry in the postseason opener as Curry danced around screens both on and off the ball to find open shots from deep. Thompson didn't play 'bad' defense; Curry hit some difficult shots in the face of good defense. However, the impact of his defense may increase as he grows accustomed to playing against a focused Warriors team.

Steven Adams, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason are invaluable rebounders, a category Houston has dominated Golden State in the teams' last few games. Quality defensive rebounding eliminates the possibility of Curry getting open for three after an offensive rebound.

Despite Curry's big scoring night, the defense still held the Warriors below 100 points. Houston's main problems came on the offensive side of the court. Houston's energy is better spent searching for ways to score and to continue limiting offensive players other than Curry. The Rockets can't let him explode in scoring, but there's also only so much that can be done to slow down a player with a reputation as one of history's best tough shot makers.