The undefeated Golden State Warriors roll into the state capital on Sunday to face the Sacramento Kings. They are trying to complete a sweep of the NBA's California teams to begin the season 3-0.

When you face an opponent carrying a lot of momentum, the best way to steal a victory is by cutting off the head of the snake. The head of the Warriors snake is Stephen Curry, and it will be rookie Davion Mitchell's job to slow him down.

Curry is averaging 30.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 6.0 boards in his last 10 games against Sacramento, leading Golden State—playing short-handed the last two seasons without Klay Thompson—to a 6-4 record.

 

The Kings nabbed Mitchell with the ninth pick of the draft despite the presence of De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, and he's living up to all expectations. Giving scorers hell on a nightly basis, he's doing exactly what Sacramento brought him in to do while living up to his unique nickname.

They call Mitchell “Off Night” because when he's guarding you, it's going to be an off night. So far in the NBA, that hasn't changed.

In his first two games, he had the privilege to defend Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Donavan Mitchell, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson. When Mitchelle was the primary defender, in 75 possessions, that group tallied 20 points on 7-27 from the field and 3-10 from deep, drawing one shooting foul, four assists, and three turnovers.

Those are remarkable numbers for a rookie against some of the NBA's best perimeter scorers. But Stephen Curry is a different type of beast. Sunday's game against Golden State will be the biggest test of all for Mitchell, and here's why.

Curry not only breaks defenders down one-on-one, he does it off the ball as well with his constant movement. He might be the best-conditioned athlete in the NBA. Mitchell will be able to rest more than Curry, which will help him try to match his energy. But Curry never seems to get tired, so it's unsure how much that will aid him.

The Warriors' two-time MVP is a wizard when it comes to running around screens. The players mentioned above give defenders a break. Usually, when they don't have the ball, they won't move much, and they will tire over time. You never have time for a break against Curry. You can't help defend or take an eye off of him. If you do, he will embarrass you with a multitude of threes and highlight plays.

Mitchell has received praise from many for his tremendous defense in his first two games. But an off night for Curry only happens when he's just missing shots, and that's not often. Coming off a 45-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers, it's not likely he will have a bad game against the Kings even with their new defensive stopper guarding him.

Instead of giving Curry an off night, Mitchell, the Kings' sensational rookie defender, could be in for a long night.