Stephen Curry Won't Slow Down as His Game Continues to Evolve
After an 11-game absence to let his sprained ankle heal, Stephen Curry picked up right where he left off...and then some.
First came a 10-triple performance against the Memphis Grizzlies (a season high) during which he peppered the opposition with long-range jumpers from all over the half-court set. Four nights later, he exploded for 32 points and eight assists against the Dallas Mavericks, including a game-winner over Dirk Nowitzki that demoralized those in attendance at American Airlines Center (starting at 2:19):
That wasn't enough, so he did his thing yet again Thursday night, this time helping to defeat the Western Conference rival Houston Rockets, 124-114. Dropping 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists, the 1-guard was quietly brilliant and rained in four more treys, including one on a semi-backdoor cut that preyed upon the inclination to respect his every move, as NBA reporter Nate Duncan relayed:
And perhaps even more telling was a possession during which he did nothing that shows up in the box score. He instead used the respect he's earned on the perimeter to drag two defenders from the painted area and create a two-on-one opportunity, via Duncan:
Curry isn't messing around. He's healthy. He's back. And he's not letting the NBA off the hook, even during a season in which a plethora of storylines has overshadowed him.
James Harden's quest for MVP has taken center stage for much of the year. So too has LeBron James' play, which so often seems impervious to the far-reaching clutches of Father Time, even during his 15th professional season. Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and a high-powered rookie class have enthralled us. Victor Oladipo and Tyreke Evans have broken out to become bona fide stars. The list goes on and on.
But let's stop forgetting about Curry, because his healthy exploits in 2017-18 have been on par with his best work in prior campaigns.
The reasons for overlooking him are simple. His dominance is old news, easier to brush aside because he's been so good for so long, while the Golden State Warriors remain atop the Western Conference heap. Plus, he suits up alongside Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson—a trio of All-Stars who can steal headlines at a moment's notice.
And yet, even if availability and narrative focus have pushed him well behind Durant in the MVP race, the point guard may still be the best player wearing a Dubs uniform. Just look at these numbers from NBA Math, which show his importance to the team's offense relative to the on/off influences of his leading teammates:
Ditto for net rating:
The Warriors get worse when their stars leave the floor. No surprise there. But they can weather the absences of players not named Curry far better than they can withstand the scoring droughts that stem from playing without the leading floor general.
That's the impact of his gravitational pull, which remains unmatched. Whether he's hitting his shots or misfiring, he sucks defenders toward him. And while that might happen on any roster for a shooter of his caliber, it's even more telling that he can compel defenders into poor decisions that see them shirk duties while guarding Durant or Thompson.
He might boast the gravity of Neptune (1.13 times that of Earth), but continuing on his scorching streak from beyond the arc would leave him in Jupiter territory (2.36 times Earth's gravity on the surface). And that's what's somehow getting overlooked, because the offensive wrecking ball has taken on a slightly different form.
We can argue about whether Curry is having a positive impact on defense (the concerns remain overblown, due to his knack for positioning and quick hands). We can highlight his underrated passing chops and impressive work on the glass. But all that pales in comparison to the historic shooting that's somehow grown routine.
So let's play a game. Which season is more impressive?
- Player A: 30.1 points, 6.7 assists and 3.3 turnovers per game with a true shooting percentage of 66.9 percent
- Player B: 27.0 points, 6.5 assists and 2.8 turnovers per game with a true shooting percentage of 66.2 percent
You're likely choosing the first one, and that's understandable. It's the correct selection, and it corresponds to Curry's 2015-16 exploits, which helped him earn the first unanimous MVP award in league history. And yet, the numbers aren't that much more impressive than the ones he's currently producing, since Player B is 2017-18 Steph.
He's not hitting threes at a game-breaking level, but he's showing off different elements of his offensive acumen that have allowed him to perform at a similarly dangerous clip. Most notably, he's earning a career-high 6.2 trips per game to the foul stripe, from which he's connecting at a 92.9 percent rate.
Throughout the lengthy history of this sport, only 38 individual seasons have seen a player qualify for the scoring leaderboard with a true shooting percentage north of 66 percent. Curry tops the leaderboard with his 30.1 points per game in 2015-16, followed by 1987-88 Charles Barkley (28.3), 1989-90 Charles Barkley (25.2) and 1984-85 Artis Gilmore (19.1).
Should he remain healthy, he'll likely join the club again with the potential to either split the two Barkley seasons or surpass both. He's just doing so in different fashion this year, relying on deadly mid-range shooting, top-notch finishing on the interior and whistle-drawing habits more so than a record-setting three-point pace.
We've frequently seen Curry complete tough, contested looks near the hoop, but not this successfully since his MVP campaigns. He's hitting 67.5 percent of his shots within three feet, which would be the third-best mark of his career:
We've often seen him drain mid-range jumpers, but never quite this well. He's hitting 55 percent of his shots from between 10 and 16 feet, as well as 57.1 percent of even longer twos—both the second-best figures of his NBA tenure:
We've routinely seen him draw contact and work his way to the stripe, but never at this level. Every trip is advantageous when shooting such a high percentage at the line, but a career-best .353 free-throw rate is working wonders:
Nothing about any of the above is too unique. But he's tapping into those abilities on a marginally more frequent basis, and that's made a world of difference. His shooting profile is fundamentally changed, and it's largely been for the better.
After the Davidson product completed his 2015-16 heroics, his submitting a superior offensive season seemed unfathomable. It may still be, especially because anything he does this year will fall short in volume, given the prolonged absence he's already endured. But by getting to the line so much more frequently—seriously, his free-throw rate hovered between .250 and .252 during the last four go-arounds before elevating rapidly to its current mark—and taking such a high percentage of his shots from downtown, he's somehow made matching previous efficiency levels possible.
Oh, and what happens if he continues to catch fire from long range? While still a top-end mark for anyone, much less someone firing away so frequently, Curry's 40.6 percent clip on treys would be the worst mark of his illustrious career. Even a regression to his lifetime mean (43.6) percent would push him into uncharted waters, so long as he maintains the other strides.
So does Curry deserve to factor into the MVP race right now? That would be silly, considering he's missed such a large percentage of the season.
Just don't forget he's an unabashed superstar with game-changing ability, even as he loses headlines to teammates and other sensational stories throughout the Association. He remains one of the NBA's premier offensive forces, racking up points in historically efficient, albeit slightly different, fashion.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats from Basketball Reference, NBA.com, NBA Math or ESPN.com and are current heading into games on Jan. 4.
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