Getty Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Stephen Curry sit on the Golden State Warriors' bench.
The NBA Playoffs are set to tip off on Saturday, meaning that the Golden State Warriors will open their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. It will mark the first time that star Kings guard De’Aaron Fox laces ’em up for the postseason, since he entered the league back in 2017.
Fox likely will be tasked with chasing around Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole all night, as he works to shut down Golden State’s sharpshooting back court.
In the days leading up to Game 1, the 25-year-old discussed how he and his teammates plan on defending the Warriors’ trio of shooters.
“How we guard them will be key,” Fox said via the Sacramento Kings official YouTube channel. “How physical we are with them will be key. Obviously we want to try to limit their freedom of movement. Just because how much they move, especially guys like Klay [Thompson], Jordan [Poole], and Steph [Curry]. You just want to be able to try and control them. You can’t let them dictate the way that they want to play.”
“It’s a lot. It’s a lot of key insight. But, at the end of the day you gotta go out there and play. You wanna learn tendencies and obviously their play-calls, but they do so much freelancing that it just comes down to how physical we are with them and just, like I said, not letting them move freely throughout the court.”
JR Smith Says Teammate ‘Almost Died’ Guarding Warriors’ Stephen Curry
While Fox hopes physicality may help the Kings slow down Curry, Thompson, and Poole, it may take more than that to do so.
During a recent appearance on The Old Man & The Three With JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, former Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith told a story about the toll that chasing Curry around took on Matthew Dellavedova back in the 2015 NBA Finals.
“Delly almost died guarding Steph Curry,” Smith said. “No, he literally almost died. We have footage of this man in the ice tub like literally up to his neck trying to guard this man.”
Matthew Dellavedova you will always be famous
Oddly enough, Dellavedova will be right there again in this series. He likely won’t be the one guarding Curry, but he’ll certainly be providing feedback and support on the sidelines for his Kings teammates.
Jordan Poole Discusses ‘Controlled Chaos’ Warriors Play With
Poole also discussed the chaotic movement that Fox cited when discussing Golden State’s offense. During a recent availability, leading up to the series against Sacramento, the 23-year-old detailed the “controlled chaos” that his veteran teammates play with.
“For it being my first run last year I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew that the intensity would be higher, it would be a different level of basketball,” Poole said via the LetsGoWarriors YouTube channel. “But it’s almost like controlled chaos. If anything you feel it more than you see it. Just like how possessions matter or play-calls, or good shots, or fouls, or turnovers, or whatever it is. You kind of just feel the magnitude from just everyone, everybody, just the situation. But honestly it’s a good feeling. If anything you’re excited. Those who like to play in the bright lights thrive in those situations and looked forward to them.”