“Ball is not the problem…he’s the f**king problem!” LeBron James gets very uncomfortable guarding Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry has mastered the screen and switch schemes incorporated by head coach Steve Kerr.

“Ball is not the problem…he’s the f**king problem!” LeBron James gets very uncomfortable guarding Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry's off the ball movement makes opponents uncomfortable around Golden State Warriors star, says LeBron James

LeBron James and Stephen Curry have been competing against each other for more than a decade now. That makes the King the best person to reveal what makes his Akron native compatriot and close friend dangerous even after all these years. James reveals what Curry does for the Golden State Warriors that makes opposing players uncomfortable while guarding him.

While speaking about the Golden State Warriors on the podcast Mind the Game with JJ Reddick, James was dissecting how Stephen Curry‘s movement without the ball causes problems:

I had Steph in transition, and I had him body on body. The ball is not the problem with Steph Curry. He's the f*cking problem. Steph is most dangerous when he doesn't have the ball. Guarding Steph is uncomfortable. And that's why Steph and Golden State will always be relevant. Cause they play an uncomfortable style of play.
LeBron James via Mind the Game
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James alluded that Curry and the Warriors have been regularly using this screen-and-switch method throughout their title-winning rampage. However, not many teams can effectively nullify Curry’s movements.

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The greatest scorer of all time suggested that most players in the league are used to following the ball. Although it is one of the best tricks to defend, with players like the Warriors superstar, one also has to focus his movements off the ball.

As long as Curry and his Warriors teammates can keep executing those switching plays, LeBron James feels they will be contenders. It says a lot as head coach Steve Kerr has employed the screen-switching schemes since he started coaching this team. And to this day, it has been extremely effective.

LeBron James and Stephen Curry’s decade-long rivalry

Since Kerr took up the head coaching job with the Golden State Warriors in 2014, his biggest achievement has been to unlock the true potential of Stephen Curry and the other Warriors stars. Until then, James had won all four of his matchups against his hometown rival. Since Curry burst out to be an MVP-caliber player, the tables have turned.

If one leaves out those initial 4 games, Curry has a 29 to 19 record against the Los Angeles Lakers superstar. It does give some benefit of the doubt that James never had a team that could rival what Curry always had at his disposal. The Warriors have been that much better, even though the center of it all was Curry.

Proof of that fact is that whenever Curry has been out injured, the Warriors were playing like a mid-tier team. But with him on the court, opponents always have to look over their shoulders.

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