The Stephen Curry Thread (2015-16 Pt. 1)

MyUniBroDavis · Post #201 » by **MyUniBroDavis** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 11:34 am

Over the last 6 games, the warriors have had an offensive rating of 123 with curry on teh floor

102 with him off the floor.

ridiculously small sample size, but still.

The-Power · Post #202 » by **The-Power** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 12:38 pm

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwEPjGfJixs[/youtube]

That shot at the 2:55 minute mark is insanely difficult. Also another great defensive performance, he has really upped his level and approaches the elite PG territory. I have not seen every game of other teams obviously, but so far into this season I'm not sure which PG is (clearly or at all) ahead of Curry on defense. The quickness of his hands and his coordination are insane - apparently the hard work on respective drills over the summer bears fruit, even though it has already been his defensive strength coming into this season.

And by the way: 40 assists on 46 FGM, 28 assists on 30 FGM at the half. The first half has been one of those performances you would use to illustrate beautiful basketball. Somewhat flying under the radar because the first half has been genuinely breathtaking. Re-watch it if you haven't done it yet.

Oh, and Jim Barnett mentioned it: has the increased his range? This seems ridiculous to believe and of course Steph could hit from anywhere before this season, but it strikes me as if he pulls up from further away from the basket this season with less hesitation. Like, he doesn't even hesitate a split of a second when he's open a few feet behind the line. This is seriously game-breaking.

So far he is 14/25 from >=26ft., 10/16 from >=27ft. and 5/5 from >=28ft and 2/2 from >=31ft (not counting the one half-court shot he attempted yesterday). 25/70 (=36.7%) of his threes this year are from >=26ft, last year it has been 'only' 169/641 (=26.4%); 16/70 (=22.9%) of his threes this year are from >=27ft, last year it has been 96/641 (=15%). He makes them at a much higer rate but this can and will cool down to some extent. But maybe we can see a tendency of him pulling up from further away. If true, it would be a huge factor in terms of extending his volume-potential to an even crazier degree, i.e. not even showing hard or doubling him at the 3pt-line would really slow his volume down.

JulesWinnfield · Post #203 » by **JulesWinnfield** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 4:06 pm

At the moment he is posting a .567 ws/48. I've never seen a number like that even in a small sample

I remember speculating during last years playoffs that as he continues to test the waters and break new ground in the 3 point volume department that it wouldn't surprise me if he one day pushed it up to over 10 attempts a game for a full year. At this rate 10 looks conservative. He is going to slay his own mark for 3s made in a season, breaking his own record yet another time

SideshowBob · Post #204 » by **SideshowBob** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 6:23 pm

JulesWinnfield wrote:At the moment he is posting a .567 ws/48. I've never seen a number like that even in a small sample

I remember speculating during last years playoffs that as he continues to test the waters and break new ground in the 3 point volume department that it wouldn't surprise me if he one day pushed it up to over 10 attempts a game for a full year. At this rate 10 looks conservative. He is going to slay his own mark for 3s made in a season, breaking his own record yet another time

At his current pace of 6.0 threes per game, he'll top last year's record in 48 games.

The-Power wrote:So far he is 14/25 from >=26ft., 10/16 from >=27ft. and 5/5 from >=28ft and 2/2 from >=31ft (not counting the one half-court shot he attempted yesterday). 25/70 (=36.7%) of his threes this year are from >=26ft, last year it has been 'only' 169/641 (=26.4%); 16/70 (=22.9%) of his threes this year are from >=27ft, last year it has been 96/641 (=15%). He makes them at a much higer rate but this can and will cool down to some extent. But maybe we can see a tendency of him pulling up from further away. If true, it would be a huge factor in terms of extending his volume-potential to an even crazier degree, i.e. not even showing hard or doubling him at the 3pt-line would really slow his volume down.

This is mind-boggling.

sixerswillrule · Post #205 » by **sixerswillrule** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 7:31 pm

How can an NBA defense let Curry attempt 16 threes? He's the best shooter the world has ever seen, the #1 priority should be preventing him to shoot.

Post #206 » by **Doctor MJ** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 7:45 pm

sixerswillrule wrote:How can an NBA defense let Curry attempt 16 threes? He's the best shooter the world has ever seen, the #1 priority should be preventing him to shoot.

I'm not going to defend defenses for letting Curry put up X 3's specifically, but I think people need to remember a few things:

1) In a sport with something on the order of 100 possessions each with 24 potential seconds of time in them, keeping something from finding a way to do something that takes a fraction of a second 85% of those possessions isn't necessarily something that should be seen as simple.

2) This especially being the case given that Curry's gift is one that basically puts him in scoring position constantly. Consider how many times Shaq would get the ball close to the basket in a game despite the fact that his teammates had a find a way to thread that needle and everyone could see whenever they tried to do it. All things being equal, it should be easier for Curry to get a 3 attempt than Shaq to get a 2.

3) Of course one can say: Yeah, but teams should be more scared of Curry's 3's than Shaq's 2's - which is a valid point, and is also utterly insane. I would urge people to remember the finals last year:

That was a great defense putting more energy on the perimeter to preventing a guy from shooting 3's than I've ever seen before, and it was Curry still reluctant to shoot at every opportunity...and he still shot double digits worth of 3's per game.

DreDay · Post #207 » by **DreDay** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 8:43 pm

sixerswillrule wrote:How can an NBA defense let Curry attempt 16 threes? He's the best shooter the world has ever seen, the #1 priority should be preventing him to shoot.

It's really not this easy - see last year's finals. Curry's 3 ball game works because of his beautiful playmaking and his unselfishness. Warriors will get 4 on 5s all game by selling out on 3's, and good luck keeping up against that with their number 1 D.

Like the Draymond Green thread said, the Curry/Green PnR may be one of, if not the most unstoppable 2 man game that we've seen in the NBA.

picc · Post #208 » by **picc** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 9:52 pm

The-Power wrote:Oh, and Jim Barnett mentioned it: has the increased his range? This seems ridiculous to believe and of course Steph could hit from anywhere before this season, but it strikes me as if he pulls up from further away from the basket this season with less hesitation. Like, he doesn't even hesitate a split of a second when he's open a few feet behind the line. This is seriously game-breaking.

His range hasn't increased, but his willingness to test it has. He hit the same 28 footers last year, he's just more willing to indiscriminately pull up from that range now. Not a bad thing either. He's hit nearly all super long range shots i've seen him take this year.

HeartBreakKid · Post #209 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 10:19 pm

picc wrote:
The-Power wrote:Oh, and Jim Barnett mentioned it: has the increased his range? This seems ridiculous to believe and of course Steph could hit from anywhere before this season, but it strikes me as if he pulls up from further away from the basket this season with less hesitation. Like, he doesn't even hesitate a split of a second when he's open a few feet behind the line. This is seriously game-breaking.

His range hasn't increased, but his willingness to test it has. He hit the same 28 footers last year, he's just more willing to indiscriminately pull up from that range now. Not a bad thing either. He's hit nearly all super long range shots i've seen him take this year.

I think that actually does infer that his range increased. Essentially 3 feet from behind the 3 point line is just a normal 3 pointer to him now. I wouldn't be surprised if he could hit 3s from even further now.

picc · Post #210 » by **picc** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 10:27 pm

Eh, not really. He's not doing anything he couldnt have done last year if he'd allowed himself. He's been draining long range 3's since 2013. But he's shooting more, and from further out. I think its just a function of increased confidence rather than increased ability.

rich316 · Post #211 » by **rich316** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 12:34 am

I wouldn't be surprised if Steph has actually become a better shooter in the last two years - it's too early to say for this year, but many noticed that he seemed slightly bulkier and stronger in his upper body during last season. When he came into the league, the rap on him was that he wouldn't be able to hang because of physical weakness. Obviously that wasn't true, but it's normal for a guy who is a below-average athlete by NBA standards to bulk up and gain strength in his late 20s. That development was part of the reason he became an excellent finisher at the rim in the past few years, and I wouldn't be surprised if it also gave him more control and power on his shot.

Post #212 » by **NyCeEvO** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 1:35 am

Doctor MJ wrote:
sixerswillrule wrote:How can an NBA defense let Curry attempt 16 threes? He's the best shooter the world has ever seen, the #1 priority should be preventing him to shoot.

I'm not going to defend defenses for letting Curry put up X 3's specifically, but I think people need to remember a few things:

1) In a sport with something on the order of 100 possessions each with 24 potential seconds of time in them, keeping something from finding a way to do something that takes a fraction of a second 85% of those possessions isn't necessarily something that should be seen as simple.

2) This especially being the case given that Curry's gift is one that basically puts him in scoring position constantly. Consider how many times Shaq would get the ball close to the basket in a game despite the fact that his teammates had a find a way to thread that needle and everyone could see whenever they tried to do it. All things being equal, it should be easier for Curry to get a 3 attempt than Shaq to get a 2.

3) Of course one can say: Yeah, but teams should be more scared of Curry's 3's than Shaq's 2's - which is a valid point, and is also utterly insane. I would urge people to remember the finals last year:

That was a great defense putting more energy on the perimeter to preventing a guy from shooting 3's than I've ever seen before, and it was Curry still reluctant to shoot at every opportunity...and he still shot double digits worth of 3's per game.

In addition to this, you also have to consider what the impact of trying to press Curry from 30-35 feet will have on the defense.

We've already seen it time and again where Curry will be across halfcourt, Draymond will set a screen for Curry beyond the 3pt line and Curry will use the pick to either pullup from three, drive to the basket for a layup, or drive and kick.

If his man and the PnR defender try to trap him, he can kick it back to Draymond who will either shoot a 3 himself or get it to an open man.

The further teams try to trap, the earlier GSW can setup a screen and give Steph the chance to lose his man and still do damage. Stopping Steph from shooting 3s is no easy task.

The High Cyde · Post #213 » by **The High Cyde** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 3:06 am

I'd just straight up full court press him, right when he gets the inbound pass after a play.

Out of answers, out of answers...

euliss · Post #214 » by **euliss** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 4:33 am

The monstars got to Steph tonight

RSCD3_ · Post #215 » by **RSCD3_** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 4:45 am

Law of averages hitting really hard

euliss · Post #216 » by **euliss** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 5:20 am

Just some really bad calls this game, 24/6/3 and a win i'll take it

DreDay · Post #217 » by **DreDay** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 5:24 am

He didn't shoot well, but the beauty of Curry is his gravity. Problem was, no one else was hitting shots either :lol:

The High Cyde · Post #218 » by **The High Cyde** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 5:25 am

Dray and Iggy were the reason they won tonight

Blue Horseshoe · Post #219 » by **Blue Horseshoe** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 5:32 am

Steph's not really a point guard. He's a two guard who can pass much like Westbrook. Averaged 7.7 assists per game last year and only 6.0 this year. Not exactly Chris Paul/Steve Nash/Rajon Rondo territory. He's playing in an era that perfectly suits his talents. If he played in the '90's he'd be like Dana Barros on steroids.

RSCD3_ · Post #220 » by **RSCD3_** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 5:54 am

Blue Horseshoe wrote:Steph's not really a point guard. He's a two guard who can pass much like Westbrook. Averaged 7.7 assists per game last year and only 6.0 this year. Not exactly Chris Paul/Steve Nash/Rajon Rondo territory. He's playing in an era that perfectly suits his talents. If he played in the '90's he'd be like Dana Barros on steroids.

Rajon Rondo doesnt belong withNash and Paul as far as playmakers go.

His volume assisting didnt scale up to great offenses even though he was working with pretty darn good parts