Is he though? No one has ever performed like this in the history of basketball. His numbers behind the arc are unprecedented. He has already broke his OWN record for three pointers in a season and there is still 24 games left. I am sure plenty of people saw this stat the other day, but from 28 to 50 ft, it makes more sense to allow him a free layup than to let him pull up form 28-50 ft. Think about that for a second. The guy is putting up video game type numbers and no one has any idea how to stop him.
A little perspective. I've got him as among the best shooter I've seen, however, I don't rate his three point records as all that special. He's putting up 3 point numbers like no one before, largely because no other player was allowed to take as many three pointers anywhere close to his rate. Going back to the 80s and 90s, there were teams that averaged less three point attempts than Curry, and there were great shooters back then, they just didn't shoot enough. Have a look at the 3pointers made per game averages, only one player in the top ten played before the 2000s (Peja Stojakovic), everyone else in the top 10 is still active (edit: except Ray Allen retired last season). Heck, the list of top 25 most 3 pointers made per game is dominated by current players. Remember, before 1980, there wasn't even a three point line, so the initial decade succeeding the line change was still mostly players coached by coaches that weren't used to the three pointer as a genuine first option, mostly it was a move to use when all other avenues were closed.
Ray Allen and Reggie Miller are the top two in three pointers made. In only 4 seasons (out of 19) Ray Allen averaged more than seven 3 point shots per game (but never more than 9), and Miller only had one season taking more than 6. In fact, Curry takes more three pointers per game (11) than Allen and Miller
combined.
The current era has embraced the three point shot, but only a few teams have truly shifted their approach to the three point shot, and the Warriors might be the only one that use the three point shot as a bonafide first option on offense. So give Curry credit, he's shooting the lights out of every gym he goes to, but he's getting the freedom to launch from three point land like none before him. So this isn't solely about how great he is as a shooter (which he is), but it's also about how smart the Warriors staff have been in giving him the greenlight.
Another point to note, teams are not accustomed to playing their defense strategies against an anomoly offense that the Warriors run. They're used to packing the zone, rotating on shooters, and switching on cuts. Generally, the most dangerous shot is the open man in the zone, followed by the open man just outside the key. In the last half decade, defences have changed their priorities to preventing free shots in the zone followed by preventing free shots on the 3 point land. But that's still based on the assumption that the opposition aims at getting an open man free somewhere around the box (as option A), or using that threat to free up a man on the three point land (think pick and roll, where the defence decides to follow the ball, or follow the roller). However, the Warriors use an offense in which the first option
is the three point shot (Option A), and that initial offense strategy triggers movements for other players if the first option is countered (Option B, rework a pick and roll, Option C, swing the ball to the weak side, etc). And that's where Golden State destroys you, they play an offense built around a 3 point trigger free shooting point that has license to shoot from
anywhere and at
anytime. You can't guard that unless your mentality shifts. When you actually start to consider the bigger threat is the three pointer, and the shot you want the opposition to take is closer to the rim. And game mentality offensively, and defensively, takes awhile to adjust. I'll be frank, I still find it difficult to watch the Warriors play using an offense built around Curry.
I used to get benched whenever I took a three point shot early in the clock, and I think if I'd ever taken a three point off the dribble, my coach would have benched me for the season. I still don't understand what I'm seeing, even though I know Curry's taking the three. I keep expecting to see a clip of Curry taking a three point shot off the dribble early in the shot clock, and Kerr shaking his head in frustration. But that's their offense, and eventually teams are going to adjust. The only question is how long it takes.
Inspite of all that, I still don't have Curry
anywhere near the list of top players in history. I don't even have him in the list of top point guards. He's going to need to do a lot more than score outrageous threes. If he wins 2 more titles, then we can start discussing lists. It's still too premature.
