Warriors' stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green sound off about Charlotte Hornets' 'egregious' defensive strategy

Although they are a shell of the dynastic offensive force that they once were, the Golden State Warriors can still fill it up in 2026.

Coming into last night's game against the Charlotte Hornets, Steve Kerr's Warriors boasted the best offense rating in basketball over the previous two weeks. Charles Lee had a plan to slow down the red hot Dubs, but it backfired miraculously as Golden State ran away with a blowout victory.

With LaMelo Ball coming off the bench because the Hornets were playing the first game of a back-to-back, Lee inserted rookie stopper Sion James into the starting lineup to shadow Curry for 94-feet. James took his job seriously and stayed attached to Steph's hip from inbound to Warriors shot attempt, even if Curry failed to cross half court.

With Steph taken out of the picture entirely, the Warriors essentially played offense four-on-four, creating swaths of space for Curry's teammates to work. The Hornets struggled to contain Golden State in these scenarios, and their plan to let everyone but Steph try to beat them failed.

As a team, the Warriors shot 23-52 from deep. 21 of those threes came from players other than Curry, including four from Draymond Green (shooting 34.2% from long-range this season), four from Moses Moody (39.2%), three from De'Anthony Melton (31.7%), and three from Brandin Podziemski (40.9%).

The strategy to shut off Steph and let anyone else beat them made sense especially once Jimmy Butler was ruled out just before tip-off, but Charlotte's inability to adjust once the rest of the Warriors got into a rhythm was their downfall.

A pair of Warriors, Curry and Green, spoke post game about Charlotte's defensive strategy.

Curry: 'It's flattering'

"There's a part of you that like fights it just because it's not real basketball," said Curry following the Warriors' 136-116 win. "But there's also a part of it that it's flattering. Just knowing that you demand that much attention, and also what it does to create shots for other guys on the floor. I've seen it all, so I know that if that's how they want to guard, how I can be effective, not letting it take me out of the game, but also use it to our advantage as a team."

"It's also funny at times just how egregious it is."

Collin Sexton wouldn't leave Steph Curry's side... even when he was off the court! 😂😆 pic.twitter.com/zKu2aJRXW4
— NBA (@NBA) January 18, 2026

Green: 'I've seen coaches get fired for playing that defense'

Draymond Green, as he is wont to do, spoke his mind on Charles Lee's coverage plan.

"I've seen coaches get fired for playing that defense. It just doesn't work." Green jokingly went on to say, "We're going to make that [Charles Lee's] reality if they play us enough."

Draymond Green talks about the Hornets playing “gimmicky” defense against the Warriors.

“I've seen coaches get fired for playing that defense, and it just doesn't work. pic.twitter.com/2IpWn572qy
— James Plowright (@British_Buzz) January 18, 2026

Golden State's two most efficient shooting games this season have come against these Charlotte Hornets. In theory, Lee's strategy is sound. But in practice, it hasn't worked against the Warriors.

Thankfully for Charlotte, these two teams won't play again until October at the earliest.

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