How many of you guys have actually watched the Warriors play? I'm a local, and I've watched plenty of games, including the playoffs, and this shouldn't even be a discussion. Klay Thompson isn't a traditional guard. He's 6'7", and in the GS system he plays almost exactly the same role that Chandler Parsons does - he's a spot-up shooter and on-ball defensive specialist. Basically he's a small forward, because GS often plays a 5-man set that includes Curry, Thompson, and Jarrett Jack all on the floor at the same time. Basically, Curry becomes a SG and Thompson becomes the SF, and Jack (hilariously) turns into the primary ball handler (a.k.a. the PG). If you want to compare Curry to Lin (because they ostensibly play "the same" position), then clearly Curry is the better player. Lin is a better defender, but Curry is a phenomenal pure shooter. If you watch closely, his ball-handling is actually a little bit suspect, but he gets away with it because he can make ridiculous shots. This is actually why he makes a better off-ball SG than primary PG, because with the latter he can just move around the court and try to get the open look without needing to deal with the inevitable double-team right away at the top of the key. People get so caught up on traditional position roles and obsolete counting stats... This kind of attitude is what lets guys like Allen Iverson become so popular even though he was actually a bad player who only cared about getting his own numbers up. Basketball is a team game. It's not a one-on-one fight with DragonBallZ power levels. If all you care about is some sort of "Would X player beat Y player?" comparison then you're talking about a completely different sport, like these guys are characters in NBA Jams on your Super Nintendo or something. I mean, it can be fun and interesting to discuss these sorts of things, but it's clear that 90% of the participants in this thread are just here to bash Lin or blindly defend him.
Jack will get you the ball whenever you're open especially when your name is Curry. Have you seen Curry pause for 3 seconds after receiving the ball so the defender could have time to come and get in your face and then proceed to dribble out of shot clock?
The Warriors have essentially torched the Spurs for the first two games by letting Curry be the primary ball handler. Now that his ankle is injured, it makes sense to have him off the ball a bit more. But in general I'd say his off the dribble shooting ability makes him an amazing primary ball handler.
Actually Harden's max contract doesn't kick in until this coming season. This past season he was still on his rookie contract so we have him for 6 years not 5... And don't forget how important Jarrett Jack is to that team... But if you're just going by the numbers, it's obvious that Lin is the weak link in the backcourt. Maybe with more playing time and experience he won't be.
Well Curry would shoot when he gets the chance. To me that right there is a better decision then what Harden does which is create contact, turnover, pass to teammates with a defender locked down with 4 seconds in shot clock. Go pull out Harden and Curry's shooting percentage and turnover ratio in the last 2 min of games. You'll be surprised how much of a scrub Harden is even when Curry's just average.
In 38 games, where the score was +/-5 in the last 5 minutes, Curry's averages dropped by 8% (2's) and 17% (3's) and 2% (fts) on his regular season whilst scoring 2.7 points with 0.3 turnovers. In 42 games, in the same situation, Harden's averages dropped 4% (2's), 9% (3's), and 0% (fts), whilst scoring 3.1 points with 0.3 turnovers as well. Harden needs to improve that, but lol at Curry being clutch.
Curry is pretty crappy in clutch time as well but he's such a pure shooter that his shooting percentage is still better even after Curry dropped 17% on 3 pointer. I just went to advance stats and filter their last 2 min performance. They both shot incredibly low 15% 3 pointer. After looking at this stat I have to agree with you that Curry is opposite of clutch. I admit I haven't watched much of GSW other than playoffs. Harden tends to throw the ball away more though. Their assist/TO are 2 for Harden and 3 for Curry.
I agree that Klay is overrated. He can be lethal when his shot if falling but when he is shooting at 40% and below, and he shoots volume, it seems he hurts his team more than he helps. Defense is average, he tries but is physically limited. Other facets of his offense are as yet raw, isn't physical and strong enough yet to draw fouls consistently, nor quick enough to slash. Has potential to keep improving though, especially as an around the rim type of scorer. I'd say Klay is more naturally talented than Lin, but Lin can lift teammates play in the times when given some degree of control. At this point, I feel Harden has a huge lead over Curry man to man. It's just that Harden has had to carry too much of a load for so long, and teams have zeroed in on him. Much harder for teams to design defenses for Curry alone because of all the other offensive threats that the Warriors have. This alone inflates Curry's rep and his numbers. Curry's main advantage over Harden is ballhandling and a sweeter outside shot, in everything else Harden is better. Would take the Rockets backcourt over the GSW backcourt at this point, especially if you ignore the teammates (Asik Parsons Beverley vs Lee Barnes Jack Bogut Landry).
LOL This is by far the best sports forum Ive been apart of....I love the way you ladies n gents debate...
Yes, but letting Curry be the primary ball handler and having him make ridiculous contested shots doesn't make him a good ball handler. It just means that he's really good at shooting. If he were a good ball handler, he would have far more wide-open and uncontested shots. He's getting by on pure shooting ability. Which is fine - the results matter more than the process, and he's proven he can do it repeatedly, but if you're looking for someone who can actually distribute the ball to give people wide-open shots then he's not your guy because he can't even create his own shot.
I'm pretty sure you have not watched the Warriors play one game this season. Curry can get his own shot easily and he is a very good distributor (really improved in this area this season).
I think that is an incredibly incorrect statement about Steph, he's not the next coming of Allen Iverson by any means, but he's got more handles than J-Lin....It's just a highlight, but he just looks like an overall more fluid player <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yIkhwc5YZfw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Come on, that's one highlight. Every player in the NBA produces highlights like this at some point. Also, I'm not comparing his handles to Lin's. All I said was that his ball handling is a little bit suspect - yes, even including the crazy highlights. Ball handling isn't about how many fancy dribbles you can do, or the guys who play AND1 street ball would all be NBA-caliber players. And it doesn't matter how fluid it "looks" because looks can be deceptive. What matters is how often he can get a shot up that doesn't include a defender's hand in his face, or how often he can draw a double-team while getting a good pass off (e.g., he isn't hunched over the ball throwing it at awkward angles). Just watch the latest series with the Spurs, and look at the number of uncontested shots guys like Parker and Ginobli are able to generate for themselves and their teammates vs. how Curry and the Warriors do it. Some of it is the fact that he has to work with guys like Thompson and (the hilariously appropriately-named) Jack, but part of it is the fact that he throws up the ball because he can get away with it. When those guys aren't getting their freakishly good shooting percentages, then they fall behind incredibly quickly (as evidenced by their last game). And thanks for bringing up Allen Iverson, who was probably the most overrated ball handler in the history of the NBA.
I think we can all agree that Lin is the best player of the 4, so in essence Hou wins! Doesn't matter if Curry or Harden is better, because Lin is the best!
Is was injure all season. No confidence. Bad coach. Harden have ball too much. Next season It's for real.
Much of Harden's production comes from drawing contact and getting to the FT line, which depends on how generous the refs feel that night. With Curry and Thompson, most of their points come from jump shots. The refs can rob Harden and his arm swinging "foul". The refs can't rob a player from a 3-pointer that clearly went through the net. In crunch time, the chances of drawing a foul are next to nil, because the refs swallow the whistle.
i don't see much value in trying to do it the traditional way when being unconventional works so well. i think his shooting is incredible to such a degree where teams are denying him any space. if he gets any space, he'll take the shot and it's a high efficiency shot. if he doesn't, he's more than capable of getting past people, at which point he either gets an open 12-15 ft floater, or lane to the basket, or someone will be open. i think he's awesome to a point where i'd like to see him in even more iso situations. as long as he's healthy.
If ur not watching the playoffs I guess. When u watch how curry can get a great look at will and can make it trunps harden flopping at the rim any day.
