Sixers have their work cut out for them against the Warriors

CURIOUS AS to what coach Brett Brown's idea might be on how to slow down Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors when they visit the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, 76ers point guard Ish Smith approached his coach about the defensive plan.

"I asked him if we were going to have a high pickup, pick up (Curry) at halfcourt," Smith said. "He said 'No, they get in at around 5 o'clock (Friday). You need to pick him up then."

What to do and how to do it against the defending world champions is a dilemma that has faced 46 Golden State opponents this season, and 42 times they have come out on the short end of what is usually a lopsided score.

Golden State begins a three-game East Coast trip here, then continues it in New York and Washington. The Warriors solidified their status as the most dominating team in the NBA the past couple of weeks with a 34-point win in Cleveland and a 30-point crushing of the San Antonio Spurs.

"When the one big, whether it be (Andrew) Bogut or (Festus) Ezeli aren't in the play right away, you have to try to play five-on-four defensively as much as you can to help those guys, because they are so deadly," veteran Elton Brand said. "And it's not just one of them, it's all of them, at times."

Asked whether this was the best team he's seen during his long career, Brand didn't hesitate.

"For sure. As a team and the way they move the ball and the way Steph is playing, it's incredible. He's not even at the three-point line, he's shooting at the hash mark and at the middle of the floor near the logo. It's amazing. He's playing the best ball, of course, of anybody this season. It's just amazing."

While the Sixers have played better ball of late, it would appear that they, like so many other teams in the league, would need some sort of miracle to have a legitimate shot at beating the Warriors. But that is what they will try to do, and it is the reason, Brown says, he was late in meeting with reporters following practice Friday.

"It's kind of, 'How the hell do we guard that?' " he said. "It's got to start with just trying not to turn the ball over. That first phase of their offense is lethal. The first three seconds of their offense are as dangerous as any part of the shot clock. If we can get shots, then you make them or you don't. But to turn it over is going to be punished more than any team that we've played, so I'll start there.

"They're different all over the place. It's a completely different style. Even with the great (San Antonio) teams that I've been lucky to be on, you just go right to (the fact) that it's a whole different style. They're just playing their offensive style the best that I've ever seen out of any team since I have been coaching. They are just so potent offensively. Kind of from all positions. They all score and they all pass and they surely play unselfish basketball."

Smith is acutely aware of the talents of Curry, having been an AAU teammate when they were teenagers. His assignment will be the most challenging, as Curry will be his defensive assignment.

"It's a tall task, but we're going to go out there and tie our shoes up, just like everyone else does," said Smith. "We'll go out there and compete and close out a good game, hopefully. We're excited about the competition.

"Steph could always shoot the ball at a high, high level. He had a good handle. Obviously, he took it to another level and got better at it. He's the best player in the league right now."

And it's not only Curry. Klay Thompson poured in 45 Wednesday in a 20-point win over Dallas when Curry struggled from the floor. Draymond Green has proved to be one of the best all-around players in the league, and the bench usually adds fuel to the inferno. And then there's the defense, which allows only 42.9 percent field-goal shooting, good for third best in the league.

"Let's just start with, they're unselfish," Brown said. "They really play together. And then you go to (the fact) they can pass. They have gifted, elite passers. And then you go to, at the end of unselfish and the end of the pass, they have some of the best shooters to ever play our sport. You take those ingredients, and it equals as good of an offensive team that we have seen.

"They play great defense. They really tick both sides of the box. When you look at league stats, the equalizers that sort of strip things down, they tick boxes. You come back and you say that their defense sets it all up. It's important to remind everybody that they guard."

You don't get to 42-4 by being one-dimensional, after all.

On Twitter: @BobCooney76

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