Getty Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks stares down Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors dropped their 11th straight game on the road Saturday, after falling to the Memphis Grizzlies. Golden State’s 133-119 defeat in Memphis dropped them to 36-36 on the season, which has them slotted at seventh in the Western Conference.
The March 18 outing was a tough one for Curry. He shot just 5-15 from the floor and scored just 16 points against the Grizzlies.
Opposing guard Dillon Brooks guarded the 35-year-old star on 32 possessions, allowing just 5 points on 1-6 shooting, according to NBA.com’s matchup data.
After the game, the outspoken defensive stalwart broke down his mindset when defending the reigning NBA Finals MVP.
“Just being obsessed about him,” Brooks said via The Commercial Appeal’s Evan Barnes. “Watching film. Just understanding his whole game. The whole gameplan. I love playing against him. He’s a competitor. I don’t think he likes the way I operate, but it’s working, so he’s going to have to figure out how to score on me.”
The Canadian guard then dove deeper, explaining how difficult it can be to slow down a player of Curry’s caliber.
“Like I told everybody else, with a guy like him, he’s being doing it for so many years, he’s seen so many defenses, so many coverages, that you gotta find a way to do something different,” he explained. “His desire to be the greatest shooter in the NBA, on this earth is the same desire that I wanna guard him every single night.”
Here’s Dillon Brooks’ full quote on guarding Stephen Curry and how he prepares by being “obsessed” with him.
“His desire to be the greatest shooter in the NBA, on this earth is the same desire that I wanna guard him every single night.”
Warriors’ Stephen Curry Praises Dillon Brooks’ Defense
During his postgame media availability, Curry discussed his off night, detailing the impact Brooks’ defensive intensity can have.
“I felt fine. I think there’s never an excuse for anything in terms of how you play,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “When you suit up, you expect to play great. So, physically, it was fine. Mentally, it felt like we locked in. We missed some shots, which happens. The way that they guard us, it’s putting a lot of pressure. Dillon does that a lot. Ninety-four feet, knowing he has a lot of size behind him, and it’s part of their game plan. So, whether you get up the normal amount of shots you do or not, you still just try to pick and choose your spots. A couple more go down, maybe things change a little bit. But was overall pretty- obviously, we lost, so I don’t really feel like talking about anything other than just, physically, I felt great.”
Warriors’ Steve Kerr Praises Jonathan Kuminga
With Curry struggling, the Dubs had to get their offense from somewhere. On Saturday, it was young forward Jonathan Kuminga who led the team in scoring. He tallied 24 points in 30 minutes off the bench against the Grizzlies.
After the loss, head coach Steve Kerr had some strong praise for the 20-year-old.
“Yeah, JK [Kuminga] was great,” Kerr said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “He played both ends. Knocked down his threes. Rebounded well. That was the biggest thing. That’s the thing that we’re looking for all the time. He had eight rebounds tonight. Three offensive. If he adds that to his game consistently, it’ll change everything for him. And so, we’re gonna stay on him about that. And he’s a young guy, so he’s learning so much every single day, and he’s making strides. So, very happy with his development.”