a8bil wrote:I disagree only with your statement that steals are meaningless...steals that are the product of gambles are meaningless, but you know as a GSW fan that Curry's steals are not = Ellis's steals. Curry's are often the finishing playing of great on ball defense. He sees when the playmaker is being frustrated into a bad pass and he steps in front of it for a steal. That's why Klay and Curry have been such a dynamic duo defensively. Klay forces bad passes, Curry makes them pay for it.Duke4life831 wrote:a8bil wrote: What? Curry is always near the top in steals each year. You know as a GSW fan when a player get steals through gambles and poor defense. That is not Curry. He gets them while playing very good team defense...and perhaps avg. to good on ball defense. Curry is not a Wow defender, but neither is he an average defender.
Steals is a meaningless stat. You can be a great on ball defender and get very little steals, you can be a horrible on ball defender and get lots of steals. The steal stat means nothing. Just like the blocked shots stat means nothing about how good a big man is at defense.
And ya I think Curry is a solid average to above average defender. I dont think that is a crazy take at all. Just to throw out some guards that are better defenders than Curry
Smart
Payton
Jrue
Lonzo
Caruso
CP3
Thybulle
Butler
Dejonte Murray
Dort
That is 10 guys off the top of my head that are all better defenders than Curry. Again All Defense level defenders are the kind of defenders that make you say "wow" when watching them on defense. That isn't Curry. Again this isn't me saying Curry sucks on defense either. I think Curry is a solid average to above average defender. I think that is a pretty reasonable take.
Im saying the steal stat is worthless when talking about if a player is a good defensive player or not. Curry is a fundamentally sound defender. I also agree his steals dont come from him gambling that much. That doesnt push him into an all defense level defender or even a really good defender level. The last 6 seasons he is averaging 1.5 steals, so we are talking about something that doesnt impact that many possessions per game. Its also not like ball handlers are terrified about getting their handles picked when Curry is on them.