Good grief. And he gets paid for writing this stuff. I have to admit that large sections of the column were an entertaining read, even the parts I disagreed with. Go figure.
What did you disagree with? I found it logical, even if I don't agree 100% with everything. The one thing I wish people would focus just a tad bit more on in advanced stats is usage. Granted, you want your best players to hive high usage. BUT... Westbrooks 38.21% usage this season is the third highest in, basically ever. The only higher were Kobe in 05/06 and MJ in 86/87. Stats like PER, for example, favor higher usage, and volume shooting. Russell is shooting 43% overall and under 30% from three. His FTA/g which is right there with James saves him. In some ways, James is like the middle of Curry and Westbrook. He's not the stat machine that Westbrook is, but will give you better all around stats than Curry. He's not the crazy pure shooter that Curry is, but gives you better %'s than Westbrook. I rank them as follows: 1. Harden - for the same reason Simmons does. And for the same reasons Simmons points out, I can see this changing, if either Curry goes on a tear and the Warriors finish with 67+ wins 2. Curry - the fun to watch dynamic is undeniable. His stats are great. His team is one of the better regular season teams we've seen in ages. But regular season doesn't mean jack, and his team is stacked. 3. Westbrook - he's obviously a crazy stat machine. But rebounds at the guard position are, imo, overrated. I don't really care on the whole. It's a thing I care about on a game to game basis, but not over the course of a season. So it's a great, highly valuable trait, but not something that would ever make me say that guy's a better PG than some other guy. His stats are super high due to usage. His efficiency isn't amazing. He still makes boneheaded plays. And as importantly as any other, he's missed 15 games (which would be nearly 20% of the season) All of that said, if GMs are picking who to build their team around, 9 times out of 10 it should be Anthony Davis. And the remaining time, which is due to Davis' health concerns, it should be Harden... again for the same reason Simmons notes.
Right off the top of my head, the Curry comparison with Bird. Let Curry win some championships first, Simmons. Heck, let Curry get to a Finals first, Simmons, before comparing him to Mr. Bird.
What is there to disagree with? Does Simmons have a MVP vote? Sounds like he's going with Harden if he does.
I think its a fair assessment of Harden's TRADE VALUE. The fact that Curry is only making $34 million until 2017 is a big reason why he is less tradable than Harden. Again, not that anybody is trading any of these guys, just saying. In fact, I wouldn't laugh at someone putting Curry above LeBron considering his salary and the fact that LeBron basically wants full autonomy over any franchise he is with. Anthony Davis is no doubt a player we have never seen before. As a basketball fan, I hope New Orleans figures it out and gives him a chance to compete. He is every bit as special as the hype suggests.
No. Curry is probably the best shooter off the dribble in NBA history. I think he's a little bit one dimensional, but it is the dimension you want to have if you are going to be one dimensional.
He and Zach Lowe both do He's probably right that the rioting factor would tip Curry ahead of the other 2 in untradeability, they love Curry, probably more than anyone else in the league right now
It's ok to be loyal to our guys and appreciate other great players. Curry is every bit deserving of the hype he is getting now. If our team was 53-13 Harden would be getting the same type of national media hype. With a healthy Dwight hopefully next year we will. There has never been a player to combine his quick release, accuracy, elite ball handling, and volume shooting from deep. Never mind the fact that he is a willing and capable distributor as a point guard. He is special. Kevin Martin never had the volume, accuracy, or ball handling of Curry. Nash is the only player I can remember being this good shooting from the PG position but he didn't take nearly the volume of shots off the dribble that curry does.
