Austin Rivers has a bone to pick with officials about the special treatment he believes Steph Curry receives.
On the latest episode of The Ringer's "Off Guard" podcast, Rivers was asked which player is the hardest for him to guard. The Minnesota Timberwolves guard, without hesitation, said Curry.
"Steph... it's not even close," Rivers said. "He doesn't stop moving, he's more dangerous when he gives up the ball than when he has it. And obviously guarding someone like him, he has the handles, he can shoot.
"You can't touch him, they give him every f--king call, they set illegal screens for him the entire game... they don't call it [because] they want to see him shoot because it's good for basketball, it's good for the NBA, good for ratings. You want to see this guy shoot as many threes as possible. Fans are going crazy, I'm out here getting illegally screened the entire game. It's nuts."
Rivers, whose sister Callie is married to Steph's brother, Seth Curry, has faced off against the Warriors superstar many times since his rookie 2012-13 season and is all too familiar with Curry's game.
"And the guy is in incredible shape, so you could be guarding him well for 10-15 seconds on the shot clock, he can give up the ball and you think you're done and no, he's running across the court to get screened three, four times to get an open fadeaway corner three," Rivers added. "Cashes it in. That doesn't happen with any other player in the NBA. He's by far, to me, in terms of focus, stamina, everything included, he's probably the hardest player to guard in the NBA."
NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole provided some contradictory evidence to Rivers' claim.
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Regardless of how Curry is treated by officials on the court, guarding the eight-time NBA All-Star has proven to be a difficult task for just about any player in the league.
Golden State Warriors
Rivers will have another opportunity to defend Curry when the Warriors and Timberwolves face off for the second time this season on Feb. 1 at Target Center.