The Secret to Stephen Curry's Superstar Evolution

Stephen Curry understands the power of reputation, and he's using his to victimize defenders in cruel new ways during a career year.

Perhaps the NBA's most fearsome long-range threat, Curry is piling up great numbers despite hitting a career-low 39.9 percent from beyond the arc. We're dealing in relative terms when it comes to three-point accuracy and Curry, of course. His "down season" from deep would be terrific for almost anyone else.

His slow start from three-point range isn't cause for concern, either. Curry typically waits until the second half to turn it on from distance, as indicated by his career month-by-month splits:

Month	3P%
November	41.5
December	40.7
January	43.6
February	44.7
March	45.7
April	46.5

Curry will sort out his three-point stroke before long. What's more interesting to consider is that Curry's off-the-charts season numbers indicate he's getting plenty of production from someplace else.

That someplace is the restricted area.

Over 20 percent of Curry's shot attempts this year have come from within three feet, according to Basketball-Reference.com, a career high. Watch any Warriors game, and you'll notice how often he gets chances inside and how much more effectively he's converting them. A glance at his shot distribution and accuracy numbers from this year and last year drive the point home.

Here's the distribution by feet:

	0-3	3-10	10-16	16-23	3P
2013-14	13.9	9.5	7.7	24.5	44.5
2014-15	20.3	10.3	8.1	15.1	46.2

And here's Curry's accuracy from each distance:

	0-3	3-10	10-16	16-23	3P
2013-14	62.5	41.2	55.7	46.6	42.4
2014-15	71.5	56.1	53.8	45.4	39.9

Part of the change is tied to a broader trend of eliminating long two-pointers throughout the league. But for Curry, specifically, the revamped shot profile indicates two important things.

First, Curry found a vulnerability in the way defenders were playing him. And second, he worked in the offseason with the specific goal of exploiting it.

He drilled on coordination and touch around the lane:

He focused on explosion going to his right:

He prepared himself for the physicality of the paint:

Those don't exactly look like they comprise the typical training regimen of a marksman.

Instead, they're part of Curry's effort to capitalize on fear. The leader in three-point makes and attempts in each of the last two seasons, Curry knew opponents were most worried about his perimeter game. He's kept that fear alive by taking more threes per minute than ever before, but his offseason preparation shaped him into a more versatile attacker—one designed to punish defenders selling out to contest his deep shots.

ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman interviewed Michael Carter-Williams, Derrick Rose and Jrue Holiday about guarding Curry, and all three essentially threw up their hands when asked how to stop him from beyond the arc.

Here's Rose: "You can't. You just have to contest, That's the God's honest truth. He's got a God's gift with his touch."

And here's Holiday: "You can't really stop him. Obviously, you slow him down. He likes threes a lot so you try and run him off the line. You either just got to play it right or have him make a mistake."

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

Translation: The trap has been set for a while.

Oddly, Curry isn't springing the trap by driving much more often than he did a year ago. You'd think his spike in attempts at the rim would coincide with more off-the-dribble penetration, but according to SportVU data provided to NBA.com, he's driving 5.9 times per game this year. Last season, he drove six times per contest.

Curry's minutes are down a tick, which basically makes those year-over-year numbers a wash.

A closer look indicates the Golden State Warriors' system is largely responsible for helping Curry run opponents through the ringer.

Back cuts are freeing up Curry like never before, and the Dubs offense is designed to prey on fearful opponents overplaying shooters—especially Curry.

Just look how hard and high Denver's Kenneth Faried, stuck on a messy switch, plays Curry here to deny the ball up top. Then watch how easily the backdoor cut materializes:

This is part of the Warriors' basic attack now, made possible by a combination of head coach Steve Kerr's implementation of the San Antonio Spurs' movement-heavy sets, assistant Alvin Gentry's mid-2000s Phoenix Suns pedigree and center Andrew Bogut's delightfully sneaky passing chops.

The result is a new version of Curry who is as happy firing up treys off pindown screens as he is darting to the hoop for the easy deuce.

Now, his highlights are peppered with finishes we've never seen before. Like this:

And this:

All of these new wrinkles are brought to us courtesy of Curry's penchant for firing from 30 feet at any time.

Per Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com:

"

The constant deep threat is leveraged into offense for everyone. Like a notorious bank robber who can pull off heists with a toy gun, Curry can pillage a fearful defense without using his famous weapon. This process was exemplified in the third quarter (on Jan. 17 against the Houston Rockets), when he scored 17 points without even attempting a three and Golden State turned a close game into a blowout.

"

Opponents know the scouting report on Curry, and they're loathe to let him get loose from long range. Only now, when they run him off the line and send him right into the teeth of the defense, Curry's the one taking a bite.

Imagine being a defender. What's the plan going forward? Back off to honor Curry's drives and cuts? Give him some space on the wing so he doesn't dice you up in the lane?

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Good luck with that.

Morphing from a superstar into an MVP is about more than changing shot distributions. It's about turning into a defensive difference-maker, maturing into a leader and playing with the kind of confidence only years of success can build.

Curry has grown in all of those areas. But this particular one—his willingness to attack whatever tiny weakness the defense presents—is the most important.

Because that change has taken a player who was already virtually unguardable and removed the qualifier.

Now, he's just unguardable.

Period.

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