Ruzious wrote:The thing I wonder is - guys like Nash... eh, there are no guys like Nash. So, is he the exception to the rule? I think he is. Just like AI was the exception to a rule. Larry Bird. Barak Obama. Trying to find the next one will prolly be fruitless.
No doubt. Not trying. I'm saying Stef Curry has a ridiculous number of NCAA leading stats, came into D1 instantly successful and has only improved every year and this year added 7 asts to his game improving on his ast/to rate while actually increasing his usage rate to a silly degree. Among league leaders in points, steals, assists, PER/40, win scores by position. NCAA tourney success. I'm saying I haven't seen another NCAA player with a similar build but similar results. I'm saying stats suggest and the thin-slice quick-read of his game suggests Stef Curry is another exception.
Until he added the PG aspect to his game, over one summer, I had doubts. Now, doubts are still reasonable, but I get the feeling he'll find away to succeed despite the real knocks against him. Am I saying he's a surefire lock?
No. A risk. A gamble. A hunch. Not necessarily the safe smart play. I'm saying the creeping instinct is this kid is another remarkable outlier. If I'm wrong, I'm okay with that. The Wiz ain't taking him anyway. I'm saying I think he's a better PG than any other in this draft. Better than any other positional player is compared to any other player at their position. (With at least one obvious exception, maybe two).
So regardless of team need, and acknowledging he's not an instant fit with personnel (except that he'd make our young Bigs look better) I'd rather use the top pick to both upgrade and swap down to be in position to be forced to trust that quick instinct-- rather than to make the consensus safe play for an above average-guy at a need position.
It's paradoxical. But then it's the same way Ernie always makes the best choice with the late-round picks, but often makes missteps with his mid-first-rounders. When forced to gamble, he makes the right read. Forget consensus. Use the force.
Ruzious wrote:Doc, another cautionary comparison - Steve Alford. http://www.basketballreference.com/play ... =ALFORST01 Think about it - if he was asked to move to the point and play the same role that Curry is - Would he have put up similar numbres? I think Curry is better - but I'm not sure how much.
Steals, assists, rebounds he's better off the bat. Hypothetical Alford-as-PG? Likely failure. What's unusual to me is that in Stef a first-option off-the-ball shooter was able to slide into the primary floor general and instantly make the adjustment-- to lose a 10 assist per game PG who had been feeding him the ball, but pick up where he left off (and better) with no appreciable increase in TOs per possession. Instead he simply gets to the line more. It doesn't ordinarily happen.
Thus, exceptional.