2019 NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors

Nothing I said confirms Durant is as good as Curry. Durant wasn't +14 in OKC either.

 

Coaches make a difference to a certain extent, they can screw things up, but matter much less for winning than the stars do. Again, the reason the Warriors are good is because of Curry. Historically, teams don't dominate because they come up with a new system or well-fitting players. They dominate because they have the best player, and they put a good system and role players around him. Once you have a dominant player, it's much easier to do that.

 

I didn't know there are people who believe Curry is a better player, you are definitely in the minority camp.

 

There are many. The ones who only look at ppg think Durant is better.

 

Amen!

 

Apparently, none of the Warriors players agree with you. They all stated that KD is their best player.

 

They might say that because they don't want to deal with a grumpy Durant. Along with playing an unselfish style of basketball, most of the GS players also tend to say the right things and avoid drama.

"Better player" is also a subjective term. Basketball isn't a one-on-one sport. Durant may be a better individual player if you add him to a team of scrubs, while Curry may be better at elevating a good team or other things like that. It's hard to identify a single best player depending on circumstances.

 

It could also be the flipside - we could just be deciding who is the best player by which team is winning, which could be the result of the system and role players around them. For example, Shaq and Kobe were the best players when they were winning. Tim Duncan was the best when he was winning. etc.

If Pippen never joins the Bulls and they don't win a bunch of titles, is Jordan considered the best player ever?

 

Agreed! I have always said Curry is the most important players to the Warriors. As he goes, so goes the Warriors.

When I said Durant is a better player, I was talking about individual level of playing from both end of the floor. Yes, it's hard to compare players because of different role/style they play, but Curry's defense makes him an obvious weak player to Durant.

 

That's fun to think about. I tend to think Jordan makes Pippen looks better rather than the other way around, so if anyone is overrated it's Pippen, and you could have plugged in another 3 and D guy there. Or maybe it's Phil Jackson who is overrated. If you look at how the team performed with and without Jordan it seems to indicate Jordan is the driving force, but it's impossible to know with 100% certainty. There just isn't enough data.

We do see the Warriors play much worse when Curry gets hurt. But they don't lose much when the other guys get hurt (as long as Curry still plays). That indicates to me it's driven by Curry, but there could be other explanations, and the sample isn't massive.

 

But what makes Durant a better individual player? I see Durant as kind of a one dimensional scorer. He's nothing special when it comes to passing or defense.

 

So if I understand your argument, since Curry is such a great player, I could replace Harden with Curry in the current iso heavy rockets system and results wouldn't change much?

 

I don't think D'Antoni would keep the iso system with Curry. He'd use Curry more like he used Nash, except letting Curry shoot more. But the Rockets would be better IMO. And if you replace Harden with a worse player, like Klay Thompson or something, they would get worse.

 

So the system will have to change?

and if yes, why would MDA have to change the system if he is getting a 'better' player?

 

On offense, Durant is a better individual scorer, Curry is a better passer. At the other end, Durant is a good defensive player while Curry is slightly below average.

 

Because better doesn't mean better in every system or role. I

 

Why is Durant the better scorer? Curry shoots a far higher percentage.

On defense I tend to agree, but Durant has problems with mental mistakes and laziness where Curry is just too small.

 

The closest we got to the system being more important than the player is the Popovich spurs.

But as we can see, kawhi is in the finals and pop isn't.

 

So the system matters?

If the system was not changed, would Rockets be better, worse or same if I swapped Curry and Harden?

BTW if success is about superstar players, then who were the superstars on the 2004 championship detroit pistons?

 

I am talking about individual scoring ability, which obviously Durant is better. On defense, Curry is not just "small", also not strong enough to hold his position, or quick enough to stay in front of quick guards, that's why Warriors always hide him on someone who isn't much a threat to score.