Can The Miami Heat Stop Steph Curry?
The Miami Heat have struggled all season guarding point guards; now they face arguably the best ever to play the position.
Steph Curry comes into this season averaging 27.9 points, four assists, and four rebounds per game. The shooting splits are 46/41/93. He's a machine.
The Warriors aren't the same Warriors of old. They are 11th in the Western Conference with a 15-15 record, but Curry still demands respect, as he can go nuclear at any moment.
Curry ranks eighth in the league in points per game and first in three-pointers made with 134. His usage rate is at 29.8 percent, which would rank him 17th.
Curry stands out the most in the clutch as he leads the league with 93 points in games with a five or less point differential under five minutes to go. He's also shooting nearly 47 percent from three on 32 attempts in those clutch minutes.
The Heat fourth-quarter woes are well known as all their hard work building a lead goes to waste quickly. If not cleaned up, Curry will make them pay once again.
In the second half of games, Curry's points are up to 15.5 compared to 12.4 in the first half. He gets much more aggressive as the game goes on.
Curry has averaged 25 points, six assists, and five rebounds in 21 games versus the Heat in his career. He is 13-8 in those matchups.
Coming off a rough Christmas game where he shot 7-for-21, Curry will be determined to bounce back at home.
Devin Brown is a contributing writer to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at dbrwnjr@gmail.com or Twitter @dbrwnjr.
