Stephen Curry Can Sow NBA MVP Seeds During All-Star Weekend
With the NBA MVP race likely headed to a photo finish, the seemingly smallest advantage could be the deciding factor in the vote.
That's why a dominant All-Star weekend for Golden State Warriors sniper Stephen Curry could have lasting effects.
Stack up his credentials with those of his top MVP competitors, and you'd have trouble spotting any discernible differences even with a magnifying glass.
All-encompassing statistical categories can't decide a favorite in this race. Curry ranks first in ESPN.com's real plus-minus (plus-8.27), James Harden has produced the most win shares (11.1) and Anthony Davis paces the league in player efficiency rating (31.7).
And that group doesn't include four-time winner LeBron James, whose Cleveland Cavaliers are 31-13 when he plays, 2-8 when he doesn't and 18.3 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.
These four players have pulled away from the pack with relative ease, but creating any distance between themselves has been a different story.
Still, this may well come down to a two-man race between Curry and Harden. Davis' New Orleans Pelicans might miss the postseason, which would likely keep him out of the top spot. The combination of Cleveland's slow start, James' two-week sabbatical and his well-stocked trophy case could swing enough voters away from his direction.
That leaves only Curry and Harden standing—in an order no one seems to know.
"Basically everywhere you go it's Curry on top with Harden second ... or Harden No. 1 with Curry a close second," NBA.com's Sekou Smith noted.
Randy Harvey of the Houston Chronicle delved deeply into the reasons he feels that "Harden should be the leading candidate for MVP." But Curry sits atop the most recent MVP ladder from Smith, who wrote that "Curry's work as a scorer/facilitator this season has been unmatched."
For all intents and purposes, the race is currently too close to call. That adds a layer of intrigue to a weekend typically reserved for meaningless exhibitions of talent.
With Curry and Harden both participating in the three-point contest and starting the All-Star Game, there are style points up for grabs that could potentially nudge either player over the top.
The competition heats up with Saturday's long-range shootout. There, Curry and Harden won't only be squaring off with one another—they'll also be joined by arguably the deepest, most talented field the event has ever featured:
That presents its own unique set of challenges, but Curry knows how hard the event can be on its own.
This will mark the fourth time that the sixth-most accurate sniper in NBA history has participated. He's still searching for his first win, and he's less than thrilled about that fact, per Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:
The following day, Curry will be suiting up for his second consecutive All-Star Game. But the difference is this time he'll be taking the floor as the leading vote-getter in the entire league.
"It's still surreal," Curry said of his second selection, per Bay Area News Group's Diamond Leung. "I guess that's a good thing. It still feels fresh and feels like something that I didn't expect."
It should also feel like an opportunity.
With this prominent of a platform, he'll have all the eyes on him needed to make a run at the All-Star Game MVP award. He, James and Kevin Durant are the three favorites to lead the contest in scoring, per Odds Shark, and Curry is the likeliest of the three to similarly stuff his stat sheet with assists.
Last year, Kyrie Irving earned MVP honors after tallying 31 points and 14 assists.
Curry had his own double-double (12 points, 11 dimes), but uncharacteristic shooting struggles (4-of-14 from the field, 2-of-11 from distance) kept his scoring total from climbing any higher.
"Obviously, we didn't win and I'd like to shoot the ball a little better," Curry said of his first All-Star experience, per CSNBayArea.com's Monte Poole. "But, all in all, my first go-round, I felt pretty comfortable out there."
He should feel even better this time around.
The game will take place at the famed Madison Square Garden, the same venue that hosted his career-high 54-point explosion on Feb. 2013.
On the sideline, Curry will have his head coach Steve Kerr, along with the rest of Golden State's heavyweight staff. On the wing, Curry will be joined by Splash Brother Klay Thompson, one of the two starters Kerr announced Wednesday night, per Simmons:
It's hard to say what that familiarity will mean when the game tips off, but it can't hurt.
Curry's incendiary perimeter shooting and growing arsenal inside the arc can torch a defense on any given night.
He is one of only four players to crack the 50-point barrier this season and one of six to have at least 10 30-point eruptions. As a distributor, he's one of only five to have tossed out double-digit assists in at least 15 games.
He can stuff the stat sheet in a myriad of ways. He leads all players with 2.16 steals per game and ranks seventh among qualified point guards with 4.7 rebounds per game.
And he's compiling this prolific production against legitimate NBA defense, something unlikely to be seen outside of the final minutes on Sunday.
The stage is set for Curry to control All-Star weekend, but the same opportunities exist for Harden. If either dominates their events, they might get a leg up on the other.
Winning these battles alone won't decide the war. However, this could be one of the few elements in this race that hasn't already been decided.
Assuming current trends hold, Curry will have the edge in assists and team success. Harden will get the nod in scoring, plus the voting support that comes with having a weaker roster around him.
Since those areas are already in play and haven't decided the race, it's very possible that a little All-Star success could go a long way.
What otherwise would look like a gimmicky shooting contest and a glorified pickup game could carry substantially more meaning if Curry—or Harden—uses the time to strengthen his MVP candidacy.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of ESPN.com, Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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