Re: Stephen Curry Receives 94 Out Of 100 First Place Votes In NBA MVP Straw Poll

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:51 pm

Stephen Curry received 94 out of 100 first place votes in ESPN's initial straw poll for the 21-22 NBA MVP award.

Curry last won the MVP in 2016.

Curry (978 points) was followed by Kevin Durant (610 points, two first-place votes) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (471 points, three first-place votes). Last year's MVP, Nikola Jokic (256 points), got the other first-place vote and came in fourth overall.

Chris Paul (160 points) rounded out the top five.

Curry, Durant and Antetokounmpo were named to all 100 ballots

Via Tim Bontemps/ESPN

LipSkinMatter · Post #2 » by **LipSkinMatter** » Sat Dec 11, 2021 6:43 am

Curry is phenomenal but he can't hold a candle to Jokic. Jokic is slaughtering him in PER (33.6 to 25.2) WS/48 (.301 to .257) TOTAL RAPTOR (+12.2 to +9.3) all while playing with much worse players and for a much worse coach and franchise. Jokic has fixed his achilles heel on the defensive end and grades as well above average on that end, and has provided 3x the value of Curry on D in 163 less minutes according to D RAPTOR.

Record shouldn't factor into the equation since Jokic is playing on a garbage team with Will gimpy Barton as his second banana and is also stuck with a brainlet coach. Meanwhile Curry's team is loaded with perfect role players, including future HOF Draymond Green, and one of the best coaches in the league. Curry has also faced the second easiest schedule in the league thus far while Jokic has faced the 10th hardest, and Jokic also missed time due to a silly suspension and a wrist injury which further nuked his team's record.

Jokic is by far the best regular season player in the league right now but due to political reasons (he just won last year, he's nowhere as big of a star as Curry/Durant, and he's white) he has very little shot to win the award this season. Garbage like this is why I don't care about this league for any reason other than betting. The NBA should be putting their entire focus into making Jokic a star during his prime but instead they ignore him and shove Curry, Durant and LeBron down our throat ad nauseum. Simmons and Kyrie haven't played a minute all season and they've been talked about 10x more than the best player in the league. :roll:

pro24 · Post #3 » by **pro24** » Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:24 am

Jokic 1
Curry 2

Who the hell are these 100 voters?

J-Mezzy · Post #4 » by **J-Mezzy** » Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:42 pm

Chill guys

Everyone knows Joker is having an outstanding season

But Curry is having a great individual season while his team has the best record in the league. It’s a given based on the parameters that they’ve always had.

Now you could argue that those parameters are stupid, but that has been discussed for decades. This is how they do it and based on that, Curry being the favorite is not a surprise

HiRez · Post #5 » by **HiRez** » Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:02 pm

J-Mezzy wrote:Chill guys

Everyone knows Joker is having an outstanding season

But Curry is having a great individual season while his team has the best record in the league. It’s a given based on the parameters that they’ve always had.

Now you could argue that those parameters are stupid, but that has been discussed for decades. This is how they do it and based on that, Curry being the favorite is not a surprise

Exactly. Hardly anyone is looking at RAPTOR or other advanced stats when they vote on these things, they watch all the games and see the effect the player has and the team record is a huge component. Curry carrying this team to the league's best record when virtually no one expected them to be much more than a fringe playoff team (if that) carries a lot of weight. They're on pace for 69 wins, which would be tied for the third most wins in NBA history and they're doing that without Klay Thompson and James Wiseman.

Last year, it was the Warriors' record that sank any chance of Curry winning MVP despite an incredible individual performance, this year it may be what pushes him over the top. But there's a lot of season left and things can change. I don't expect the Warriors to win 69 games and I expect the Nuggets record will be better than it currently is.

mustbeniceman · Post #6 » by **mustbeniceman** » Sat Dec 11, 2021 10:32 pm

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pro24 wrote:Jokic 1
Curry 2

Who the hell are these 100 voters?

Thankfully not you

hyberx · Post #7 » by **hyberx** » Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:26 pm

LOL, those who said Joker is playing better than Curry is certifiably basketball illiterate. :lol:

Anyone who actually watched the games would know Curry is doubled-teamed every time he walked across the half-court line, even without the ball! That's how lethal he is as the greatest shooter of all time, bar none. He has that unique gravity pull to the opposing team's defense that no other superstar has, not even LeBron or KD, because of his unlimited range. Curry is still lethal even after giving up the rock on double team because he won't stop moving to get it back, other stars won't' even think about that (yes you, Harden). He is making a high % of his shots, including 3pters, even with double team jumping at him. How often Joker are double-teamed if he is not under the basket? Don't be silly.

Pickled Prunes · Post #8 » by **Pickled Prunes** » Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:23 am

I think it's interesting that CP3 doesn't get much credit. That team has the same record as the GSW, just got back from the Finals and they have completely taken on CP3's personality. Yeah, I know they won 8 games in the bubble before CP3 got there. They weren't about to do this!

Pickled Prunes · Post #9 » by **Pickled Prunes** » Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:41 am

hyberx wrote:LOL, those who said Joker is playing better than Curry is certifiably basketball illiterate. Anyone who actually watched the games would know Curry is doubled-teamed every time he walked across the half-court line, even without the ball! That's how lethal he is as the greatest shooter of all time, bar none. He has that unique gravity pull to the opposing team's defense that no other superstar has, not even LeBron or KD, because of his unlimited range. Curry is still lethal even after giving up the rock on double team because he won't stop moving to get it back, other stars won't' even think about that (yes you, Harden). He is making a high % of his shots, including 3pters, even with double team jumping at him. How often Joker are double-teamed if he is not under the basket? Don't be silly.

Your point about Curry moving without the ball is exactly why POR is screwed with Lillard. When the double teams come he gets frustrated, gives up the ball and watches. But I don't think you are giving Jokic nearly enough credit. That team is busted and he's averaging 26/13/7 with a .579 FG% .650 TS%. Your "greatest shooter of all time" is averaging 27/5/6 with a .439 FG% and a .617 TS%. Steph is averaging 1 more point on 3 more shots. I'm not picking sides here; just pointing out that it's not one sided enough to be torching anyone with a different opinion.

Heavyhitter10 · Post #10 » by **Heavyhitter10** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:41 am

Curry may be wearing down. He recently started wearing a sleeve on both knees and the Warriors are 3-3 in their last 6 games. In the three losses he is shooing 25% on twos and 24% on 3s. He is getting to the line less than 5 times per game in the three losses. Klay can’t come back too soon!

LipSkinMatter · Post #11 » by **LipSkinMatter** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 2:42 am

hyberx wrote:LOL, those who said Joker is playing better than Curry is certifiably basketball illiterate. Anyone who actually watched the games would know Curry is doubled-teamed every time he walked across the half-court line, even without the ball! That's how lethal he is as the greatest shooter of all time, bar none. He has that unique gravity pull to the opposing team's defense that no other superstar has, not even LeBron or KD, because of his unlimited range. Curry is still lethal even after giving up the rock on double team because he won't stop moving to get it back, other stars won't' even think about that (yes you, Harden). He is making a high % of his shots, including 3pters, even with double team jumping at him. How often Joker are double-teamed if he is not under the basket? Don't be silly.

You didn't have the guts to at me so you automatically lose. You say Curry is being double teamed more than any other player, yet he only ranks 17th on the list of most double teamed players. There is only one center on the top 20 of this list btw, because double teaming centers isn't as effective as double teaming smaller players. If you double team one of the best passers in the league like Joker you will get shredded anyway. Despite being a Center he is the much better passer than PG Curry. Interesting to note the guy you ragged on Harden is being double teamed the 5th most in the league btw. You really wiffed on this one.