This isn’t to say that Stephen Curry is afraid of playing Deron Williams. But Williams size, strength, speed, and the Jazz offensive system, may make it hard for Curry to defend him given his slowly mending ankle.
By Jazz offensive system, Rusty Simmons describes it as a flex offense which sharp cuts, changing of direction, and endless screens to fight through, can put Curry’s ankle in a compromising situation. Curry talks about Williams:
“When they run their offense, there are like 10 screens on one possession, and guys are running 100 mph to get to their spots, so it’s tough to guard,” Curry said. “Deron fits right into that, and all of their players take that identity.”
As Curry has already mentioned, Marcus Thompson reports, the larger ramifications of his ankle and his career is more important than playing a few sporadic games here and there. And as much as I hate to say it, this is true. It would be a shame to see Curry try to play through this the way that Grant Hill, when with the Pistons, struggled through an ankle injury that cost him a huge part of his former mega-star career.
This isn’t to say Curry has the same injury and will necessary suffer a similar fate. But as Warriors fans, we’ve waited so long for the playoffs, new jerseys, and new (pending) ownership. What’s a few more games and possibly losses anyway, right?