Stephen Curry wasn't injured/hurt/70% in 2016 Finals

[oaktownwarriors87]

Curry couldn't take Enes Kanter or Kevin Love off the dribble. Injuries happen and it's part of the game, but let's not pretend he was anywhere close to where he should have been.

Personally, I think he still hasn't recovered and I don't know if he ever will. Sucks, but **** happens.

[baller16]

Curry couldn't take Enes Kanter or Kevin Love off the dribble. Injuries happen and it's part of the game, but let's not pretend he was anywhere close to where he should have been.

Personally, I think he still hasn't recovered and I don't know if he ever will. Sucks, but **** happens.

So your implying that he's still injured??

Just admit he was never injured in the finals. Dude was beasting in the WCF averaging 28/6/6 44% FG 41% 3P with 61% TS. Factoring in the playoff defense and game planning and those stats align with his RS stats. So was he playing injured in the WCF too? Also remember that he got a weeks rest after the WCF too.

I'm tired of these Warrior fans making up excuses/narratives

[michaelm]

Curry couldn't take Enes Kanter or Kevin Love off the dribble. Injuries happen and it's part of the game, but let's not pretend he was anywhere close to where he should have been.

Personally, I think he still hasn't recovered and I don't know if he ever will. Sucks, but **** happens.

So your implying that he's still injured??

Just admit he was never injured in the finals. Dude was beasting in the WCF averaging 28/6/6 44% FG 41% 3P with 61% TS. Factoring in the playoff defense and game planning and those stats align with his RS stats. So was he playing injured in the WCF too? Also remember that he got a weeks rest after the WCF too.

I'm tired of these Warrior fans making up excuses/narratives

Speaking of narratives, yours seems to be that Curry can't have been injured because you don't want him to have been injured.

No-one is trying to give the Cavs' title to GSW, unlike so many of your fellow travellers on here last season in regard to GSW's 2015 title, merely disputing that "choking" is the only explanation for Curry not performing at the pretty much unprecedented level he performed during the 73 win regular season those of your ilk continually raise in discussions regarding Durant going to GSW. Curry can still have played at a very high level, and then been restricted to playing at a lesser level at the end of the finals series due to good play by the Cavs, without being in absolutely peak condition, particularly since he did have a well documented injury which caused him to miss 2 weeks earlier in the play-offs, the absolute minimum for even a grade I MCL injury. He did miss the Olympics, and spent the off season doing rehab on his knee, and was apparently unable to do the core work which he did in the previous off season prior to the unanimous MVP season last season.

As I said, the only fair assumption is that the Cavs would have both stopped Curry and won regardless. Whether Curry "choked" is a different issue, which it should hardly surprise you GSW fans are inclined to dispute.

[lorak]

Here's a rebuttal that you some how missed through all your research.

https://player.fm/series/truehoop/can-the-cavs-keep-it-up-and-steph-and-love-issues-6916-CEH26K7zKmGNNwH1
Listen to this podcast starting at the 17:55 mark.

I don't see how this is a rebuttal. It's just someones word, that Curry looked awful and couldn't do this or that at practice, but I've provided actual statistic and video evidence that Stephen was doing his usual things in the game (or before - look at that dunk before G7 vs CLE!).

If someone wants to rebut what I've said here are the points that should be addressed:

- if he was injured, then why vs Irving he shot 66 eFG% and just 49% vs other Cavs defenders? Injury didn't affect him when he was defended by Kyrie?

- if hurt, then why he played so good for almost a month after injury (from G4 vs POR to G7 vs OKC), when it was for him the best period of playoff basketball in his career?

- what about all these gifs showing his movement? That aren't just selected plays, I could have posted more of them, but it would make post too big. So how can someone says he couldn't drive or get separation or move laterally, when he actually did all these things in the game?

- what about his defense on Westbrook, how injured player can play so good D on such athletic freak? And generally why his defensive (and speed/distance) numbers haven't regressed?

[Hobo4President]

Curry having a worse season this year compared to last != he is still injured. Not only is he now sharing the ball with Durant but players can have outlying seasons.

[DubsPhilosophy]

Here's a rebuttal that you some how missed through all your research.

https://player.fm/series/truehoop/can-the-cavs-keep-it-up-and-steph-and-love-issues-6916-CEH26K7zKmGNNwH1
Listen to this podcast starting at the 17:55 mark.

I don't see how this is a rebuttal. It's just someones word, that Curry looked awful and couldn't do this or that at practice, but I've provided actual statistic and video evidence that Stephen was doing his usual things in the game (or before - look at that dunk before G7 vs CLE!).

If someone wants to rebut what I've said here are the points that should be addressed:

- if he was injured, then why vs Irving he shot 66 eFG% and just 49% vs other Cavs defenders? Injury didn't affect him when he was defended by Kyrie? Why would we talk about Kyrie's poor defense in a discussion of Curry's injured knee?

- if hurt, then why he played so good for almost a month after injury (from G4 vs POR to G7 vs OKC), when it was for him the best period of playoff basketball in his career? While the injury deprived him of his best efforts, it didn't deprive him of his ability to be a superior basketball player.

- what about all these gifs showing his movement? That aren't just selected plays, I could have posted more of them, but it would make post too big. So how can someone says he couldn't drive or get separation or move laterally, when he actually did all these things in the game? He was healthy enough to do those things, just not at the level he could when fully healthy. Such things are difficult to quantify which is why observation, as the podcast above showed, is critical to making a determination.

- what about his defense on Westbrook, how injured player can play so good D on such athletic freak? And generally why his defensive (and speed/distance) numbers haven't regressed? Curry always plays his best D by anticipating the decisions of his opponents, whether that be cutting off his man or stepping into passing lanes. A player like Curry is less effected by reduced strength and quickness in his legs than a player more dependent on athleticism.

The overall conclusion that people should be able to draw is that his injury didn't hinder his abilities enough to be a problem until late in game 7 when the addition of fatigue took his legs away enough that he couldn't get up shots comfortably, in rhythm and free of Cavs defenders.

We're not idiots here right? It's not injuries OR the Cavs defense OR fatigue. It was all those things put together that created the conditions for that loss. If he wasn't injured would the Warriors have won? It's a reasonable conclusion to draw but it's all just speculation. When the Warriors won two years ago, I strongly believe they would have beaten the Cavs if they had been 100% but again, it's all just speculation.

[Wagonband]

I've been lurking for a long time and haven't felt to need to write anything down, but this thread is just forcing me to.

Lol at the arguments everyone is banged up. Ofc they are. But not everyone suffers knee strain and is forced to play the highest level basketball in 2 weeks. I've watched every GSW game since Curry has been in the league, and his entire playoff play was exactly how he played when he had those chronic ankle issues. Very tentative, relying even more on contested threes etc... Did he play well? Sure. Force of will and adrenaline will allow you to do that. Did he play close to how he played in the regular season? No, not even by a mile.

It's like none of you ever suffered an injury like he did. I play competitive basketball, and you get bruises, ankle twists, hard shots that you feel for weeks on, but when the game starts and you are in the action you forget about that, even if you are not close to 100%. But when something like a knee gets hurt bad, it takes you so long to feel comfortable again and not tentative and second guessing how you rise/land/move there's no way he was the same player that he was before.

You are putting his stats vs OKC as proof, but if you'd watch those games, and not just clips, you'd see how tentative he was battling through screens and looking at where he lands all the time. You didn't see how many opportunities to drive he didn't take that he usually does. His stats were still good because he is such a good player, not because he was 100%.

Like mentioned, when Kevin Love and Enes Kanter can guard him on the perimeter you are delusional to think he was close to his best. And it's not fatigue since he had 2 weeks of "rest" because of his injury.

There's a hate on him that's amazing. If the same thing happened to Kyrie everyone would be saying "wow he's such a brave guy, not complaining he has an injury and still playing through it". But just because it's Curry and GSW and the best regular team of all time everyone is so hurt all the time. You should applaud the fact that nobody in GSW ever took away from CLE's title, when a lot of lesser teams and players would use this injury as an excuse.

[bondom34]

I've been lurking for a long time and haven't felt to need to write anything down, but this thread is just forcing me to.

Lol at the arguments everyone is banged up. Ofc they are. But not everyone suffers knee strain and is forced to play the highest level basketball in 2 weeks. I've watched every GSW game since Curry has been in the league, and his entire playoff play was exactly how he played when he had those chronic ankle issues. Very tentative, relying even more on contested threes etc... Did he play well? Sure. Force of will and adrenaline will allow you to do that. Did he play close to how he played in the regular season? No, not even by a mile.

It's like none of you ever suffered an injury like he did. I play competitive basketball, and you get bruises, ankle twists, hard shots that you feel for weeks on, but when the game starts and you are in the action you forget about that, even if you are not close to 100%. But when something like a knee gets hurt bad, it takes you so long to feel comfortable again and not tentative and second guessing how you rise/land/move there's no way he was the same player that he was before.

You are putting his stats vs OKC as proof, but if you'd watch those games, and not just clips, you'd see how tentative he was battling through screens and looking at where he lands all the time. You didn't see how many opportunities to drive he didn't take that he usually does. His stats were still good because he is such a good player, not because he was 100%.

Like mentioned, when Kevin Love and Enes Kanter can guard him on the perimeter you are delusional to think he was close to his best. And it's not fatigue since he had 2 weeks of "rest" because of his injury.

There's a hate on him that's amazing. If the same thing happened to Kyrie everyone would be saying "wow he's such a brave guy, not complaining he has an injury and still playing through it". But just because it's Curry and GSW and the best regular team of all time everyone is so hurt all the time. You should applaud the fact that nobody in GSW ever took away from CLE's title, when a lot of lesser teams and players would use this injury as an excuse.

Kanter couldn't come close to guarding him. And he gets about the least hate of any star player I've seen.

[DubsPhilosophy]

Kanter couldn't come close to guarding him. And he gets about the least hate of any star player I've seen.

Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan got the least hate. Lebron and now KD are on the other end of the spectrum. Curry is now closer to Lebron and KD than Dirk and TD.

[bondom34]

Kanter couldn't come close to guarding him. And he gets about the least hate of any star player I've seen.

Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan got the least hate. Lebron and now KD are on the other end of the spectrum. Curry is now closer to Lebron and KD than Dirk and TD.

Meant current guys, but among actives Curry is pretty light. Gets less than any other MVP candidates pretty easily

[michaelm]

Kanter couldn't come close to guarding him. And he gets about the least hate of any star player I've seen.

Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan got the least hate. Lebron and now KD are on the other end of the spectrum. Curry is now closer to Lebron and KD than Dirk and TD.

Meant current guys, but among actives Curry is pretty light. Gets less than any other MVP candidates pretty easily

I agree, he doesn't get much hate, apart from for odd things like what he does with his mouth guard which appears to irritate some people, and for showboating after making half court shots, which would be hard not to do I would have thought, and for his fans the joy with which he plays at his best is a significant part of his appeal.

[lorak]

Why would we talk about Kyrie's poor defense in a discussion of Curry's injured knee?

Because it shows Cavs defense was the reason why Curry played poorly in the finals, not injury as he performed VERY good when was guarded by worse defender.

- if hurt, then why he played so good for almost a month after injury (from G4 vs POR to G7 vs OKC), when it was for him the best period of playoff basketball in his career? While the injury deprived him of his best efforts, it didn't deprive him of his ability to be a superior basketball player.

So why he wasn't superior anymore in the finals?
And it doesn't look like injury deprived him of his best efforts as the level he played after coming back (for almost a month!) was the best period of playoff basketball in his career.

- what about all these gifs showing his movement? That aren't just selected plays, I could have posted more of them, but it would make post too big. So how can someone says he couldn't drive or get separation or move laterally, when he actually did all these things in the game? He was healthy enough to do those things, just not at the level he could when fully healthy. Such things are difficult to quantify which is why observation, as the podcast above showed, is critical to making a determination.

Why some podcast guy observations should be more valuable than what we can see with our own eyes?

- what about his defense on Westbrook, how injured player can play so good D on such athletic freak? And generally why his defensive (and speed/distance) numbers haven't regressed? [b]Curry always plays his best D by anticipating the decisions of his opponents, whether that be cutting off his man or stepping into passing lanes. A player like Curry is less effected by reduced strength and quickness in his legs than a player more dependent on athleticism.

Maybe, but if so, then we should see similar effect on offense...

[Lovethisgamegr]

Of course Curry was still hurt but that wasn't the biggest part of why he was unable to rise to the occasion in the final 4 minutes of game 7. Clearly his injured knee was compromising his ability to get open like he's used to but it was still almost good enough to beat the Cavs. In those final 4 minutes, the quest for 73, the hurt knee and the hellacious 7-game series against OKC all combined and degraded his abilities just enough to make him unable to hit the shots to win the game. It's not one thing, it never is, it's injury and fatigue making it so that the Cavs defense was able to contain him.

So basically you get the point it's everything but him not being mentally concentrated and "tough" enough for such a moment.Which was the real problem and not some imaginary "hurt" "limp" "roboleg".

[michaelm]

Of course Curry was still hurt but that wasn't the biggest part of why he was unable to rise to the occasion in the final 4 minutes of game 7. Clearly his injured knee was compromising his ability to get open like he's used to but it was still almost good enough to beat the Cavs. In those final 4 minutes, the quest for 73, the hurt knee and the hellacious 7-game series against OKC all combined and degraded his abilities just enough to make him unable to hit the shots to win the game. It's not one thing, it never is, it's injury and fatigue making it so that the Cavs defense was able to contain him.

So basically you get the point it's everything but him not being mentally concentrated and "tough" enough for such a moment.Which was the real problem and not some imaginary "hurt" "limp" "roboleg".

That is your opinion, and continually re-stating it makes it no more (or less for that matter) correct.

And disagreeing with you about such an opinion, particularly the perennial armchair pundit ''mental toughness thing", (remote cod psychology is probably the only thing with less scientific validity than the practice of medicine by the untrained via the internet) is not the same as discrediting the Cavs title, which the Cavs obviously won because they, and in particular LeBron and Kyrie, were better over a 7 game series.

[FNQ]

He wasn't hurt

To clarify: he wasn't hurt as it relates to the MCL G1 sprain he had early in the playoffs.

Curry's always a little nicked up. I'm pretty sure he was nicked up our championship year. And to GSW fans who are using health as the reason Steph's %s werent as high as they were last year.. Steph had one of the most ungodly offensive years in NBA history last year. Even he can't do that all the time. What we're seeing now is the same Steph that we saw before that year, one whos still an all-star, still a top MVP candidate, still a likely top 5 player. The lone difference is a dip in 3pt%, but he's paired that with an increase in 2pt%. Would expect progression to the mean as far as his 3ball goes though.

[qm22]

A general question is how much Curry's game depends on athleticism. He slowly grew more athletic after coming in. He could barely dunk on an open rim from vids in his first off-season, and when he squeaked out an in game dunk the first time it was a big deal.

[Lovethisgamegr]

So basically you get the point it's everything but him not being mentally concentrated and "tough" enough for such a moment.Which was the real problem and not some imaginary "hurt" "limp" "roboleg".

That is your opinion, and continually re-stating it makes it no more (or less for that matter) correct.

And disagreeing with you about such an opinion, particularly the perennial armchair pundit ''mental toughness thing", (remote cod psychology is probably the only thing with less scientific validity than the practice of medicine by the untrained via the internet) is not the same as discrediting the Cavs title, which the Cavs obviously won because they, and in particular LeBron and Kyrie, were better over a 7 game series.

Well everyone is restating on 2 sides.A fact(Curry played and scored several games in the finals ) and a speculation (Curry was injured during that play).If i continue restating that Earth isn't flat wouldn't make it more (or less for that matter) correct that's also true[/quote]

I do not intend to analyse Curry's pshychology regarding his relation to his parents-friends etc. He looks really good and happy but who knows?I am reffering to his bad choices during a very stressfull situation,the last minutes of a final's series.I also take under consideration that he wasn't also that good in the 2015 finals as he used to be in the regular season.That's two times in a row underperforming in the finals.He didn't have surgery after the series and we weren't informed about any treatment that he followed.I just follow the facts and then i add a speculation.You see there are 3 choices:
He underperformed because of an injury (facts disagree)
He underperformed because he was not mentally tough for a situation like that
He underperformed because he was not that much of a player anyway.
Therefore i understund why he's fans choose the first narrative despite that it is not based on facts.They don't like the other 2 choices

[michaelm]

He wasn't hurt

To clarify: he wasn't hurt as it relates to the MCL G1 sprain he had early in the playoffs.

Curry's always a little nicked up. I'm pretty sure he was nicked up our championship year. And to GSW fans who are using health as the reason Steph's %s werent as high as they were last year.. Steph had one of the most ungodly offensive years in NBA history last year. Even he can't do that all the time. What we're seeing now is the same Steph that we saw before that year, one whos still an all-star, still a top MVP candidate, still a likely top 5 player. The lone difference is a dip in 3pt%, but he's paired that with an increase in 2pt%. Would expect progression to the mean as far as his 3ball goes though.

I agree, as you know, that a Grade 1 MCL is indeed not a severe injury.

I don't ever recall it being said that it was definitely only a Grade I MCL and nothing else however, and as far as I know he never had an arthroscope. You will recall GSW played Festus Ezeli through a play-off series because he "only" had a minor MCL injury, after which he then didn't return until well into the next season and has been pretty much mostly crocked since.

I pretty much agree with you and had the same thought, that Curry is playing now and played in the play-offs post the Rockets including the finals last season at the level of 2015 MVP Curry. Unanimous MVP regular season 2016 Curry was something quite extraordinary and above that level, however, and he perhaps was at an unsustainable peak possibly partly related to unusual luck with health/injuries both during his pre-season preparation, and during the season, in a player relatively frail by NBA standards and certainly injury prone historically; he obviously was seldom if ever facing the level of defense OKC and the Cavs (particularly LeBron) brought in the play-offs though. What an earlier poster said is true as far as my observations (definitely less comprehensive than yours) go however, that his peak absolutely ungodly shooting is dependent on his health, with even a minor ankle tweak during a game when he is absolutely "on" seeming to throw off his shot.

[Vee-Rex]

Kanter couldn't come close to guarding him. And he gets about the least hate of any star player I've seen.

Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan got the least hate. Lebron and now KD are on the other end of the spectrum. Curry is now closer to Lebron and KD than Dirk and TD.

The constant show-boating on the court and off-the-court arrogance "Locker room champagne" "Guaranteeing win vs. OKC" are stuff Dirk and Tim never did.

[Bakuto]

My favorite is when they try to compare Steph's injury and Bogut (who now sucks as some GS fans will say) to Kyrie and Love missing the entire Finals (Well kyrie did play one game)

Ah still is funny to hear that ridiculous comparison.

Do you ever get tired of your victim complex? It feels like half your posts are filled with whining or insecurity, which is weird since your team just had an amazing comeback and are the current champions.

His name used to be Heat3Peat. I'm not sure the Cavs are even his team.