dhsilv2 wrote:Salieri wrote:clyde21 wrote:
how is Magic a more versatile player than Steph?
Because he doesn't need to have a secondary ball handler and distributor next to him.
In order to unleash Curry's off-ball legendary skills, you need to take the ball off his hands and give it to someone else. Otherwise, you end up in a Mark Jackson type offense, minimizing his impact and relying on Curry's brilliance instead of a system that puts him in a position to succeed.
Magic doesn't need that. He would be pretty much ideal for nowaday's heliocentric offense style. If Doncic is capable of doing what he does, Magic wouldn't have a problem at all. He is more versatile than one of the most versatile superstars ever -Curry- because he is the whole system.
Of course, that doesn't mean Magic wouldn't benefit from having a secondary ball handler. He would. But he wouldn't need it to succeed. Curry does.
It all comes down to this:
- Curry needs a good distributor and floor general.
- Magic needs shooters and scorers.
In this current NBA landscape, I think there are more (and better on average) options for shooters than for ball handlers. Pretty much every role player is required to shoot, that doesn't happen with floor general skills.
I really respect Curry a lot, and I've stated many times that Curry is the most valuable player on the planet right now until further notice. But Magic is probably the only player who can claim to be even more portable than him. Maybe Dirk too, I don't know.
This is so wrong. Curry is an elite scorer in iso and he can run a heliocentric offensive with talent and everyone sucks if their team sucks around them enough. The thing is the topic is VERSATILE!
To be the optimal versatile guy you have to be able to switch seamlessly between being a play maker AND a spacer. Those are really the two roles in the nba today. Curry can do both at an all nba level. I'm not so sure Magic can be a spacer that seamlessly. But even if he can, can he ALSO become the guy who also can make the cuts and move off ball as needed? He was NEVER that...
Your first part of your post looks like a lot of assumptions you put in my mouth so you can say they're wrong. That's an old trick.
I never said Curry is not an elite ISO scorer, I never said he can't run a heliocentric offense and of course everyone's talents will be wasted if their team sucks.
Facts are, Curry proved he is indeed an elite ISO scorer. I remember RealGM during the 13 and 14 seasons, when polls popped up every other week asking who's the most fun player to watch and the majority of the posters answered "Curry when he's in the zone is an absolute joy to watch, most fun in the league".
And his natural position is PG, so yeah he can run a heliocentric offense because he can score and playmake with the best of them.
But I don't want Curry to be with the best of them, I want Curry to be ahead of the rest, which he proved he can be when he's used as an off-the-ball warping vortex (decoy sounds a bit demeaning, and I don't think it encapsulates Curry's importance).
And his team didn't "suck" when he was used in a more traditional way under Mark Jackson, in fact it was the same team and the only meaningful change was the coach. It unlocked a level of offensive domination that it transformed the NBA landscape and redefined defenses just against that team. But the team was the same, the talent was already there. It just wasn't being used the optimal way.
System matters. Coaching matters.
I disagree with you on Magic, though. You claim you're not sure Magic would be a good enough spacer, I think he proved he can be a very good shooter, way better than some of the highly coveted 3+D guys that are being paid sweet salaries today. If you disagree with me on that, it's fine, but I think Magic's numbers -especially in the second half of his career- prove my point. He would have no problem hitting the three at an above average clip, which is what makes someone a good spacer. Moving without the ball shouldn't be a problem for someone with such unique IQ, considering he already did that in spurts like 70sFan mentioned.
Curry can be a GOAT level spacer and an all-NBA level playmaker. Magic can be an all-NBA spacer and a GOAT level playmaker. They are essentially a reverse image of each other. What makes me think Magic is more portable is that good playmakers are more scarce than spacers, so his primary skill would be more treasured.
I don't know. I won't argue with anyone who picks Curry here, because I can see the merits on that pick. I am a huge Curry fan, and I believe you will never be wrong by picking Curry for your team. It just seems to me that Magic personifies the one-man-army even better than him, and a secondary playmaker is less frequent than another shooter in that spot.
King James Peoples' MVP 2020 
