One of the key battles of the Western Conference Finals series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets is that of Steph Curry vs James Harden. Despite the series being tied at two apiece, Harden definitely has the upper hand in this personal battle on the court.

Curry vs Harden

Harden and Curry may have both managed to get on the scoresheet on Tuesday night in Game 4 with 30 points and 28 points respectively, it's the Rockets star that once again came out on top as his team won the game 95-92 and tied the series at 2-2.

The Warriors now must win two of the next three games in order to book their spot in the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive year. This has been their most challenging run to the Finals in recent years due to Curry's ongoing battle with Harden. However, the two-time MVP winner has been given some advice on how to handle him by NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

Prior to Game 4, Bryant released his newest episode of Detail based on the Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Rockets. He focused on Curry’s defense against Harden and how he needs to “(defend) the ball more aggressively or (have) a clear direction or focus of where (he wants) to push the ball handler.”

Control the situation

First off, the Los Angeles Lakers legend suggested that Curry needs to avoid moving closer to Harden when he is on the attack as this will do him no good.

He said, via For The Win: “This is a threatening position. They say on those shark shows when the shark’s swimming with his fins down, you know he’s in an attack position. James is not backing this ball up. He’s staying in an attack position here, so you know this is a threatening posture. To move closer to him, does nothing but put us in jeopardy because from here, he’s going to attack.”

Secondly, Kobe suggests that Curry needs to pressure Harden into a direction on the court where his Warriors teammates will be able to provide him assistance on defense.

“When he’s (Harden) here in this position here, I have to be able to force him. If you drew an imaginary line between me and Iguodala (the closest defender to Curry’s right), that’s the angle where I need to push Harden. I cannot allow him to turn this corner. He dips this shoulder, turns this corner, we’re done. And me trying to hold him there with my right hand, that’s gonna do nothing against this guy. He’s gonna go right through it.”

Bryant emphasised that if Curry isn't able to figure this out, the help on the weak side is going to be useless. He needs to stop allowing Harden to turn the corner for an easy route to the basket.

“I gotta be able to guard him. These teams need to know they’re not gonna be able to just isolate me and have something positive come out of it. I have to be able to guard this player and force him to help. Not allow him to simply turn the corner and do this.

"I need to be able to hold my ground defensively, I have to be mindful of where the help is, and I have to be mindful of how to push the ball handler in the direction of where the help is and prohibit him from turning the corner quickly, which makes the weak side help inconsequential.”

It may have been too late for Curry to receive this advance for Game 4, and by the way Harden scored 30 points on the night, it might have been. It will, therefore, be interesting to see if he changes his defense when Game 5 between the Rockets and the Warriors takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston on Thursday night.

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