Steph Curry is the basketball equivalent of a system QB

[JonFromVA]

A "system" QB's role can be filled by another game-manager/system QB ... that's not the case for Steph. His shooting ability off the bounce is (was?) a unique/special skill that generated high-efficiency shots for him or else open shots for teammates when defenses were forced to deal with it.

Finding a secondary playmaker who can initiate the offense when Steph is double teamed is a far easier problem to solve than replacing Steph. Having that ability all rolled up in player like Draymond who used to shoot 3's and played elite defense is a luxury, but not a necessity.

Floor spacing/cutting/finishing/defense are all components all teams need.

[Homer38]

You think Klay would be getting the same looks if Curry was not in his team?

Curry was the highest usage player on that team by a mile.

Also I love that you ignore Curry putting up 37ppg, 8rpg and 7apg in the conference finals against the Blazers LMAO. No KD and the boy literally almost put up a 40 point triple double series. In that same series Klay shot an abysmal 37%.

Curry haters are **** NUTS.

No, but same thing for Curry without Thompson

Curry has an amazing career, but to be a top 15-20 players of all-time, you need to at least to compete for a playoff spot at some point in his career even if the team is garbage ... I'm not asking to win the title or things like that, but it would be bad for Curry if the warriors have one of the worst records in the NBA again this year.

Did you not watch the Warriors in 2013? Klay was in his 2nd season and far from the player he is today, Draymond was a rookie who didn't even get playing time and they nearly upset the Spurs in the 2nd round.

Curry was ridiculous that playoffs and managed to lead the Warriors to an upset over the 3rd seeded Nuggets

He was great in the playoffs and this is true that the warriors were not a great team,but Curry was still not a superstar at this time.I mean,I know that the west were loaded but he did not even make the all-star in 2013!...The 2013 Warriors were not the 2006 or 2007 lakers as supporting cast.

This year I'm just asking Curry to at least keep the warriors competitive and not have one of the worst teams in the NBA.

[mr570]

Why is there actually five pages on this stupid take?

[RSP83]

He’s the NBA version of Nick Foles (except Foles actually won a Super Bowl MVP).

He only works in an offense that is built around maximizing his strengths and covering his weaknesses, while being surrounded by weapons. He can look like a superstar when in the right situation but crumbles as the 1st option.

He’s the GOAT shooter but he doesn’t make plays, can’t carry a team and doesn’t make anyone better.

Did Steph steal your lunch or something?

[dhsilv2]

He’s the NBA version of Nick Foles (except Foles actually won a Super Bowl MVP).

He only works in an offense that is built around maximizing his strengths and covering his weaknesses, while being surrounded by weapons. He can look like a superstar when in the right situation but crumbles as the 1st option.

He’s the GOAT shooter but he doesn’t make plays, can’t carry a team and doesn’t make anyone better.

I remember watching my first nba game too.

[Saints14]

This thread is obviously ridiculous but I do think there's a larger discussion to be had about Steph's legacy if he can't drag a bad team into the playoffs. As much as I respect Ben Taylor's (ElGee/Thinking Basketball) work, it feels like there's a disproportionate amount of importance placed on how players fit on some hypothetical, all-time great team. The data is clear that Curry is an incredible ceiling-raiser on that type of team, but most players just won't end up in that kind of situation. In fact I'd guess that the majority of real NBA teams would be better off with a Harden/2017 Westbrook type of player, even if that doesn't put them over the top. Maybe Steph's advantage in championship odds on the top teams still trumps that, that's a philosophical debate...but a lot of these ceiling-raising discussions just seem to have gotten too hypothetical

[Woodsanity]

Steph has went from slightly overrated to extremely underrated. Christ....

[dhsilv2]

This thread is obviously ridiculous but I do think there's a larger discussion to be had about Steph's legacy if he can't drag a bad team into the playoffs. As much as I respect Ben Taylor's (ElGee/Thinking Basketball) work, it feels like there's a disproportionate amount of importance placed on how players fit on some hypothetical, all-time great team. The data is clear that Curry is an incredible ceiling-raiser on that type of team, but most players just won't end up in that kind of situation. In fact I'd guess that the majority of real NBA teams would be better off with a Harden/2017 Westbrook type of player, even if that doesn't put them over the top. Maybe Steph's advantage in championship odds on the top teams still trumps that, that's a philosophical debate...but a lot of these ceiling-raising discussions just seem to have gotten too hypothetical

Not that there's anything wrong with not being as good as Harden in certain areas, but we saw Curry on a very average team making the playoffs. At this point Curry is likely past his prime and add in coming off an injury...he might just not be the same guy anymore.

[Cavsfansince84]

He probably won't stand out as a top 3 player this year but he's somewhere in the 4-8 range most likely even with some drop off.

[art_tatum]

He’s the NBA version of Nick Foles (except Foles actually won a Super Bowl MVP).

He only works in an offense that is built around maximizing his strengths and covering his weaknesses, while being surrounded by weapons. He can look like a superstar when in the right situation but crumbles as the 1st option.

He’s the GOAT shooter but he doesn’t make plays, can’t carry a team and doesn’t make anyone better.

Please explain the 2013 and 2014 seasons?
Mark Jackson who can't even get another coaching job
David Lee as the 2nd best player.
2013 gets the warriors to 6 games in the 2nd round against the spurs!
2014 51 wins, lost on final possession on the 7th game against lob city clips.
Trash thread. Makes the forum worse.

In 13 and 14 Steph was an all star, no better than Lillard is looked at now. Kerr and getting a stacked roster elevated him to MVP status and overrated him all-time.

So youre comparing a prime lillard who's team is better than the 13 warriors to a pre prime curry? Yeah sounds about right lillard is a top 10 player. thanks for making my point.

[Anticon]

This thread is obviously ridiculous but I do think there's a larger discussion to be had about Steph's legacy if he can't drag a bad team into the playoffs. As much as I respect Ben Taylor's (ElGee/Thinking Basketball) work, it feels like there's a disproportionate amount of importance placed on how players fit on some hypothetical, all-time great team. The data is clear that Curry is an incredible ceiling-raiser on that type of team, but most players just won't end up in that kind of situation. In fact I'd guess that the majority of real NBA teams would be better off with a Harden/2017 Westbrook type of player, even if that doesn't put them over the top. Maybe Steph's advantage in championship odds on the top teams still trumps that, that's a philosophical debate...but a lot of these ceiling-raising discussions just seem to have gotten too hypothetical

I would be very curious to put Steph on a semi competitive team like say the Magic, and what impact he would have. We can probably guess what he'd look like on the Bucks or the Heat, but what about a team that needs a bit more of a boost?

[Lalouie]

it's not the system.

i think curry gets too cute with the ball handling, so he plays "soft". everything he does is a finesse move and when they double him that cuteness will get shoved out of him.

so i'm asking can he be effective when he has no room to be glib any longer. i'm thinking his last 6games says NO

[art_tatum]

He’s the NBA version of Nick Foles (except Foles actually won a Super Bowl MVP).

He only works in an offense that is built around maximizing his strengths and covering his weaknesses, while being surrounded by weapons. He can look like a superstar when in the right situation but crumbles as the 1st option.

He’s the GOAT shooter but he doesn’t make plays, can’t carry a team and doesn’t make anyone better.

Please explain the 2013 and 2014 seasons?
Mark Jackson who can't even get another coaching job
David Lee as the 2nd best player.
2013 gets the warriors to 6 games in the 2nd round against the spurs!
2014 51 wins, lost on final possession on the 7th game against lob city clips.
Trash thread. Makes the forum worse.

Klay Thompson was on those teams. He wasn't the Klay we know now but he was still a guy that would make you pay for double teams. I'm not with the OP's conclusion but Curry wasn't a 20+ ppg guy before Klay showed up.

What? Klay from 11-13 was a space cadet. Curry literally scored almost 19ppgzzz his sophomore year. He got injured the year klay was a rookie. Bad ankles. You really believe curry can't score 20 points without klay? Of course klay is a great player, but replace him with mccullum, curry will still be an all star and mvp. I don't see how they would lose to an injured cavs team and then durants ass came so curry would still have 3 rings. Ofc klay is better fit. It's like saying Jordan sucks without pippen. No Jordan still will be goat tier, but maybe not win as much cause pippen was a good complimentary player

[Danny1616]

No, but same thing for Curry without Thompson

Curry has an amazing career, but to be a top 15-20 players of all-time, you need to at least to compete for a playoff spot at some point in his career even if the team is garbage ... I'm not asking to win the title or things like that, but it would be bad for Curry if the warriors have one of the worst records in the NBA again this year.

Did you not watch the Warriors in 2013? Klay was in his 2nd season and far from the player he is today, Draymond was a rookie who didn't even get playing time and they nearly upset the Spurs in the 2nd round.

Curry was ridiculous that playoffs and managed to lead the Warriors to an upset over the 3rd seeded Nuggets

He was great in the playoffs and this is true that the warriors were not a great team,but Curry was still not a superstar at this time.I mean,I know that the west were loaded but he did not even make the all-star in 2013!...The 2013 Warriors were not the 2006 or 2007 lakers as supporting cast.

This year I'm just asking Curry to at least keep the warriors competitive and not have one of the worst teams in the NBA.

He played like a superstar in the 2013 playoffs and was a full fledged superstar and top 5 player in 2014.

Curry easily deserved to make the all-star team in 2013, he was robbed and in the West. In the East he might've been a starter. He was a top 15 player that year.

https://www.si.com/nba/2013/09/19/top-100-players-of-2014-nos-20-11

Curry was ranked 15th heading into the 2014 season by Sports Illustrated, for example.

By 2015, Bleacher Report had him at #4.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2239419-ranking-the-top-25-players-in-the-nba-entering-2014-15-season

[gmoney411]

Please explain the 2013 and 2014 seasons?
Mark Jackson who can't even get another coaching job
David Lee as the 2nd best player.
2013 gets the warriors to 6 games in the 2nd round against the spurs!
2014 51 wins, lost on final possession on the 7th game against lob city clips.
Trash thread. Makes the forum worse.

Klay Thompson was on those teams. He wasn't the Klay we know now but he was still a guy that would make you pay for double teams. I'm not with the OP's conclusion but Curry wasn't a 20+ ppg guy before Klay showed up.

What? Klay from 11-13 was a space cadet. Curry literally scored almost 19ppgzzz his sophomore year. He got injured the year klay was a rookie. Bad ankles. You really believe curry can't score 20 points without klay? Of course klay is a great player, but replace him with mccullum, curry will still be an all star and mvp. I don't see how they would lose to an injured cavs team and then durants ass came so curry would still have 3 rings. Ofc klay is better fit. It's like saying Jordan sucks without pippen. No Jordan still will be goat tier, but maybe not win as much cause pippen was a good complimentary player

Literally almost? There is no need for that level of reach. I'm just pointing out that Curry's career took off when Klay showed up and provided elite level shooting that makes life easier for everyone on the court. Leaving him out of the 13 and 14 season discussion is disingenuous. Klay wasn't some bench player in those years. He averaged 16 and 18 on great shooting percentages.

[PD28]

If he plays out the full season, we get a real look at how well he can do carrying a team on his own. I for one, don't think he can do it but we shall see lol

Didn't he carry the Warriors to the finals after KD went down when they were down 2-0 to the Rockets and almost single handedly take a historically great defensive Raptors team to game 7 of the NBA finals?

Curry has proven himself already.

Lebron couldn't lead the Lakers to the playoffs before AD came, does that mean it proves Lebron can't lead a team by himself, lol? Da fuq?

Lebron carried the Cavs to the finals without a second star....stop comparing him to Steph lol

[Spintown]

Did you not watch the Warriors in 2013? Klay was in his 2nd season and far from the player he is today, Draymond was a rookie who didn't even get playing time and they nearly upset the Spurs in the 2nd round.

Curry was ridiculous that playoffs and managed to lead the Warriors to an upset over the 3rd seeded Nuggets

He was great in the playoffs and this is true that the warriors were not a great team,but Curry was still not a superstar at this time.I mean,I know that the west were loaded but he did not even make the all-star in 2013!...The 2013 Warriors were not the 2006 or 2007 lakers as supporting cast.

This year I'm just asking Curry to at least keep the warriors competitive and not have one of the worst teams in the NBA.

He played like a superstar in the 2013 playoffs and was a full fledged superstar and top 5 player in 2014.

Curry easily deserved to make the all-star team in 2013, he was robbed and in the West. In the East he might've been a starter. He was a top 15 player that year.

https://www.si.com/nba/2013/09/19/top-100-players-of-2014-nos-20-11

Curry was ranked 15th heading into the 2014 season by Sports Illustrated, for example.

By 2015, Bleacher Report had him at #4.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2239419-ranking-the-top-25-players-in-the-nba-entering-2014-15-season

You sound like a desperate ***** trying to bring people back

It’s a Fact, Curry has been getting exposed since the 2019 Finals.

I’m just waiting for another fake injury to end his season.

[trickshot]

Makes it hard when you can double curry, have one guy ignore Wiggins and patrol the passing lanes. He's pretty good but it's one game and they lost their second best player for the year, third best player is out, and your riding on a rookie C to beat a good Nets team

dray in or out won't matter. it turns out he is more dependent on the others than curry is.

what matters if you ask me, aside from klay, is there's no bench. what matters is gsw always played with a kind of glib freedom, kind of loosey goosey style. i think that's out the window. no more showy slight of hand, no more dribbling three tennis balls and a basketball at one time. it's all linear AtoB stuff,,,no more scenic tours.

curry is going to have to tighten up his game especially if he becomes the sole focus of the opponents, instead of goofing around with his behind-the-backs. question is, is his glib style part of his game. if it is he's going to be smacked down real good. i think he needs to be a straight ahead runner now

Draymond makes a world of difference though. He's the lesser celebrated half of the Pick and roll duo that changed the NBA, yep stand by that take. A screener big that rolls and distributes like a guard. Within the context of the thread yes it's true that Steph requires a very specific setup if we are to see him at his best again but Warriors season isn't over till we see how they look when Dray comes back.

[art_tatum]

Klay Thompson was on those teams. He wasn't the Klay we know now but he was still a guy that would make you pay for double teams. I'm not with the OP's conclusion but Curry wasn't a 20+ ppg guy before Klay showed up.

What? Klay from 11-13 was a space cadet. Curry literally scored almost 19ppgzzz his sophomore year. He got injured the year klay was a rookie. Bad ankles. You really believe curry can't score 20 points without klay? Of course klay is a great player, but replace him with mccullum, curry will still be an all star and mvp. I don't see how they would lose to an injured cavs team and then durants ass came so curry would still have 3 rings. Ofc klay is better fit. It's like saying Jordan sucks without pippen. No Jordan still will be goat tier, but maybe not win as much cause pippen was a good complimentary player

Literally almost? There is no need for that level of reach. I'm just pointing out that Curry's career took off when Klay showed up and provided elite level shooting that makes life easier for everyone on the court. Leaving him out of the 13 and 14 season discussion is disingenuous. Klay wasn't some bench player in those years. He averaged 16 and 18 on great shooting percentages.

Klay is my favorite player. The warriors are my second team but I dislike draymond so much. I'm not downplaying his role, but you still haven't answered my question? Do you think curry would not be a top player if he had different above avg starting 2guard next to him? Youre implying a sophomore and 3rd year klay is the reason curry can be great and score 20ppgzzz. Not taking to account that they are drafted a 3years apart with curry getting injured most of his 3rd year. Curry looked fine and on track playing next to monta freaking Ellis who can't shoot 3s.

[Danny1616]

He was great in the playoffs and this is true that the warriors were not a great team,but Curry was still not a superstar at this time.I mean,I know that the west were loaded but he did not even make the all-star in 2013!...The 2013 Warriors were not the 2006 or 2007 lakers as supporting cast.

This year I'm just asking Curry to at least keep the warriors competitive and not have one of the worst teams in the NBA.

He played like a superstar in the 2013 playoffs and was a full fledged superstar and top 5 player in 2014.

Curry easily deserved to make the all-star team in 2013, he was robbed and in the West. In the East he might've been a starter. He was a top 15 player that year.

https://www.si.com/nba/2013/09/19/top-100-players-of-2014-nos-20-11

Curry was ranked 15th heading into the 2014 season by Sports Illustrated, for example.

By 2015, Bleacher Report had him at #4.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2239419-ranking-the-top-25-players-in-the-nba-entering-2014-15-season

You sound like a desperate ***** trying to bring people back

It’s a Fact, Curry has been getting exposed since the 2019 Finals.

I’m just waiting for another fake injury to end his season.

Absolutely incredible analysis.

You really brought the facts, the evidence, and critical analysis to justify your insane remarks.

Good work, I salute you.