Philadelphia 76ers guard Seth Curry is one of the elite shooters in the NBA. He shot 45% from deep during the regular season and was a key reason the Sixers finished with the best record in the East.
Despite his elite shooting and his high percentage, there were plenty of times where he passed open looks from deep. While he is able to put the ball on the floor and be more than just a shooter, he was brought to Philadelphia because of his shooting.
In their first-round series with the Washington Wizards, Curry has not passed on many looks. He is averaging 6.3 3-pointers per game through three games and that is due to a pre-playoff talk he had with coach Doc Rivers.
“We obviously brought it up during our pre-playoff package to the team about what everybody should do more; what they can do better,” said Rivers. “I just told him I don’t think I’ve told a lot of shooters to shoot open shots more, but he’s doing it. It’s good because he is such a threat. It really helps our offense.”
The presence of Curry makes opposing teams think twice about doubling Joel Embiid and makes life easier for everybody on offense. When he is in a groove, there are not a lot of open 3-pointers he’ll miss ,and he has been a perfect fit next to the star duo.
Granted, Curry tested positive for COVID-19 in January and that has affected him all season. But with Rivers leading the way, Curry has been getting back on track.
“Me personally, he was just trying to tell me to be a weapon and be a little more aggressive, moving around, trying to find my shots,” he explained. “Just be a little bit more of a playmaker with the ball in my hand, play with a little bit more energy, which has been up and down this year. The whole team’s feeling that right now.”
Thanks to the help of Curry on offense, the Sixers have a chance to earn their first playoff sweep since 1985 if they can get it done on Monday in Washington D.C.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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