Steph Curry Musings

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

By any measure, Steph Curry had a historic season this year. He absolutely blew the doors off the 3PTM record with 402 made 3s; posted a PER of 31.5; and WS/48 of .318. Just ridiculous numbers all the way around, not to mention the nightly highlights of video game-esque shot making and ball handling.

Yet for all of his magic in the regular season, he has definitely come back down to earth in the playoffs. While he's still posting very good overall numbers, his shooting, assists, and turnovers have all taken a hit. He's averaging over 4 turnovers per game for example.

One of the knocks on Curry coming out of college was his physical profile. He was and still is fairly slight and doesn't have a lightning first step or explosive athleticism. He overcame this by becoming the most skilled player in his generation. But I think we're starting to see the limits of his skills, as he sometimes looks just flat out over matched on both ends of the court. I emphasize the word sometimes, because obviously he can still cut your heart out in a flash if he finds a crack of daylight. But whether it's getting completely turned around defensively guarding Irving or throwing the ball away on multiple possessions on offense, he hasn't looked so magical of late.

All of that being said, he doesn't have to be brilliant for the Warriors to win, as we saw in the first two games. Teams are so determined to not let him get an open look from beyond the arc that it often leads to huge spaces in the middle of the floor for cutters and rollers. One mix-up on the defensive switch and someone gets an easy layup.

Big game tonight for Cleveland again. This series is over if they lose and I expect Curry and Golden State to play much tougher.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

One other thing on Curry.....

For those of you especially bullish about Minnesota's chances to contend sooner, rather than later, you would certainly view this Golden State team as a major foe over the next few years.

Because Rubio and Curry were in the same draft, it's sometimes easy to think of them as the same age. But they're not. Rubio is 25, but Curry is 28 already. I think it's fair to say that by the time we're competing for titles, Curry just might be starting the slow downward trajectory that happens to pretty much every elite NBA player starting in their late 20s/early 30s.

[Coolbreeze44]

One other thing on Curry.....

For those of you especially bullish about Minnesota's chances to contend sooner, rather than later, you would certainly view this Golden State team as a major foe over the next few years.

Because Rubio and Curry were in the same draft, it's sometimes easy to think of them as the same age. But they're not. Rubio is 25, but Curry is 28 already. I think it's fair to say that by the time we're competing for titles, Curry just might be starting the slow downward trajectory that happens to pretty much every elite NBA player starting in their late 20s/early 30s.

We're going to be a pain in the side of the Warriors before too long. KAT is a nightmare for them on both ends of the floor, and our overall athleticism is going to cause them problems.

[thedoper]

Curry is injury prone. I think that is the bottom line. When he is healthy he is great, but there's not much room for error for him. I don't think he is going to sustain his elite level he reached this regular season but is always going to be a player defenses need to respect.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Curry is injury prone. I think that is the bottom line. When he is healthy he is great, but there's not much room for error for him. I don't think he is going to sustain his elite level he reached this regular season but is always going to be a player defenses need to respect.

Right, getting back to his physical stature, that is one my key takeaways. He started to cross into "greatness" territory last season, at age 26. He took it to a whole other level this season, but I'm not sure how long he can sustain this level of production. Teams now know that you absolutely have to be physical with him and crowd him off the 3-point line. That puts a lot more pressure on him to make plays off the bounce and in the paint - not something that gets easier with age.

LeBron and Jordan sustained elite best-player-in-the-world production for 5-7 consecutive years. Curry.....I think he's lucky if he has two more truly elite years left in him (but still lots more "just" very good years to follow).

[Monster]

Curry is injury prone. I think that is the bottom line. When he is healthy he is great, but there's not much room for error for him. I don't think he is going to sustain his elite level he reached this regular season but is always going to be a player defenses need to respect.

Right, getting back to his physical stature, that is one my key takeaways. He started to cross into "greatness" territory last season, at age 26. He took it to a whole other level this season, but I'm not sure how long he can sustain this level of production. Teams now know that you absolutely have to be physical with him and crowd him off the 3-point line. That puts a lot more pressure on him to make plays off the bounce and in the paint - not something that gets easier with age.

LeBron and Jordan sustained elite best-player-in-the-world production for 5-7 consecutive years. Curry.....I think he's lucky if he has two more truly elite years left in him (but still lots more "just" very good years to follow).

The injury prone thing is over. Curry missed 13 regular season games the last 4 seasons. Curry got plenty strong and it was part of why he is the player he is.

What Curry has done with mixed results is let other guys do the work. Those first 2 games he didn't just keep shooting he moved the ball. What the Cavs and OKC and other teams have tried to do is take away Curry and Klay. At times Curry hasn't made the right play. Last year in the finals both he and the Warriors figured out it wasn't the curry show. Curry passed the ball and guys got to the right spots and especially Iggy stepped up. Curry hasn't made the right decisions in squire a few instances but I think some of that is his teammates not getting where they need to be. Curry is still to blame and the Cavs deserve credit also.

The bottom line is Curry has to get much closer to being Steph curry (like he has in the current game) for GS to win this series. Oh and Klay needs to get in some sort of groove also.

[thedoper]

Curry is injury prone. I think that is the bottom line. When he is healthy he is great, but there's not much room for error for him. I don't think he is going to sustain his elite level he reached this regular season but is always going to be a player defenses need to respect.

Right, getting back to his physical stature, that is one my key takeaways. He started to cross into "greatness" territory last season, at age 26. He took it to a whole other level this season, but I'm not sure how long he can sustain this level of production. Teams now know that you absolutely have to be physical with him and crowd him off the 3-point line. That puts a lot more pressure on him to make plays off the bounce and in the paint - not something that gets easier with age.

LeBron and Jordan sustained elite best-player-in-the-world production for 5-7 consecutive years. Curry.....I think he's lucky if he has two more truly elite years left in him (but still lots more "just" very good years to follow).

The injury prone thing is over. Curry missed 13 regular season games the last 4 seasons. Curry got plenty strong and it was part of why he is the player he is.

What Curry has done with mixed results is let other guys do the work. Those first 2 games he didn't just keep shooting he moved the ball. What the Cavs and OKC and other teams have tried to do is take away Curry and Klay. At times Curry hasn't made the right play. Last year in the finals both he and the Warriors figured out it wasn't the curry show. Curry passed the ball and guys got to the right spots and especially Iggy stepped up. Curry hasn't made the right decisions in squire a few instances but I think some of that is his teammates not getting where they need to be. Curry is still to blame and the Cavs deserve credit also.

The bottom line is Curry has to get much closer to being Steph curry (like he has in the current game) for GS to win this series. Oh and Klay needs to get in some sort of groove also.

I don't think Curry has looked right this playoffs. I think that he is going to continue with nagging injuries. He already said he was sitting out Rio to rest his knees. I don't think it is over, I would argue that it has already begun for him.

[Monster]

Curry is injury prone. I think that is the bottom line. When he is healthy he is great, but there's not much room for error for him. I don't think he is going to sustain his elite level he reached this regular season but is always going to be a player defenses need to respect.

Right, getting back to his physical stature, that is one my key takeaways. He started to cross into "greatness" territory last season, at age 26. He took it to a whole other level this season, but I'm not sure how long he can sustain this level of production. Teams now know that you absolutely have to be physical with him and crowd him off the 3-point line. That puts a lot more pressure on him to make plays off the bounce and in the paint - not something that gets easier with age.

LeBron and Jordan sustained elite best-player-in-the-world production for 5-7 consecutive years. Curry.....I think he's lucky if he has two more truly elite years left in him (but still lots more "just" very good years to follow).

The injury prone thing is over. Curry missed 13 regular season games the last 4 seasons. Curry got plenty strong and it was part of why he is the player he is.

What Curry has done with mixed results is let other guys do the work. Those first 2 games he didn't just keep shooting he moved the ball. What the Cavs and OKC and other teams have tried to do is take away Curry and Klay. At times Curry hasn't made the right play. Last year in the finals both he and the Warriors figured out it wasn't the curry show. Curry passed the ball and guys got to the right spots and especially Iggy stepped up. Curry hasn't made the right decisions in squire a few instances but I think some of that is his teammates not getting where they need to be. Curry is still to blame and the Cavs deserve credit also.

The bottom line is Curry has to get much closer to being Steph curry (like he has in the current game) for GS to win this series. Oh and Klay needs to get in some sort of groove also.

I don't think Curry has looked right this playoffs. I think that he is going to continue with nagging injuries. He already said he was sitting out Rio to rest his knees. I don't think it is over, I would argue that it has already begun for him.

Ah if you meant he was "injury prone" in that he is going to have future injuries I can live with that take but for me at this point I'll take the guy that's played nearly every game the last 4 years.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Shooting doesn't age and Steph is the greatest shooter ever. He's gonna be a pain to deal with for a while yet.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Shooting doesn't age and Steph is the greatest shooter ever. He's gonna be a pain to deal with for a while yet.

Well, I certainly agree. My point isn't that he's going to suddenly fizzle out. I just question his ability to sustain elite level play (e.g. top 3 or 4 in the NBA) for more than another year or two.

But yeah, he'll be a lights-out shooter forever.