This is interesting because Steph is a much better shooter but MJ was much better defender.
Steph Curry becomes first ever unanimous MVP
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This is interesting because Steph is a much better shooter but MJ was much better defender.
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I know some will disagree, but the defensive schemes popularized by Thibs after "illegal defense" was abolished by the NBA are tougher to deal with than handchecks to me. A handcheck back in the day meant you had to deal with getting by one defender, these ICE coverages mean you gotta deal with getting by like 3 defenders. The stuff Thibs was throwing at Kobe in that Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals was pretty exotic.
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Yeah, I guess I'm one of the people that would disagree.
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Since TMac and Barkley have been doing the NBA is watered down thing in the media this topic of handchecking vs zone/illegal defense is going around NBA twitter, here is an article from 2001 that includes MJ talking about zones. And I'm a Jordan stan and protector of all things MJ, but this is pretty interesting.
If Zone Defenses Come In, Stars May Go Out
The subject was defense in the NBA, and Michael Jordan was speaking, although more about offense, especially his. We know few defenses could do anything about that.
But there was one that might be bothersome, the zone defense. It was the topic du jour at last month's All-Star Game, and Jordan was making an impassioned plea before the competition committee that had gathered to consider rules changes to enliven the NBA game. Jordan spoke passionately. If teams were able to play zone defenses, he said, he never would have had the career he did.
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You should, because it's right. Curry is a spectacular player, but by most the numbers, he's definitely well behind Jordan.
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curry came out the gates smoking but cooled down towards the second half of the season.
Player Season Finder | Basketball-Reference.com
Player Season Finder | Basketball-Reference.com - playoffs
people in a rush to discuss jordan, lebron from 04-13 was downright ridiculous. the top ten seasons ever ( ws per 48, Vorp, box score plus minus) have his name littered all over them
Player Season Finder | Basketball-Reference.com
Player Season Finder | Basketball-Reference.com - playoffs
people in a rush to discuss jordan, lebron from 04-13 was downright ridiculous. the top ten seasons ever ( ws per 48, Vorp, box score plus minus) have his name littered all over them
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yeah he's had an all time season, but its still behind a few jordan and lebron seasons. Playoffs he isn't even in the same league as those two just yet.
curry's regular season in no way takes a backseat to anyone else's, ever. he scored 30 a game on 50/45/91, 7 assists and led the league in steals, unheard of TS% for his volume, broke his own record for threes by ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN, and oh ya, his team just won the most games in the history of the league
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shooting efficiency isn't the only worthy metric in basketball. GSW '16 are the greatest team in regular season history sure, that doesn't automatically launch curry into having the 'greatest' season ever. He's had maybe the 4th or 5th best RS ever, and hasn't done anything really of note in the playoffs. just go take a gander at 2012-2013 lebron numbers.
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Yeah. People talk about how much tougher it was to score because of the handchecks, but they never really consider the fact that there are other things - like the increased sophistication of defenses - that have caused major problems for stars in this era (see LeBron in 2011 finals). Curry certainly faces different challenges if the physicality is ramped up, but I'm not sure Jordan puts up the scoring numbers he does in today's game looking at six eyeballs every possession. Does the triangle work as well? Maybe not.
You would have to do a pretty thorough statistical analysis to really feel good about comparing Curry's seasons to LeBron's best to Jordan's best. It's hard for me to believe, though, that the dude who put up video game numbers on the greatest regular season team of all-time isn't in that same conversation. I think Curry's a better defender than people give him credit for and his collateral impact offensively may extend beyond what Jordan's was.
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Nonsense, he just had arguably the best offensive season of the modern era playing the most important position for the best regular season team ever. Curry's season takes a backseat to no one.
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He's been injured for the playoffs and just came back after not playing for over two weeks and had one of the all-time epic playoff performances, scoring the most points ever in an overtime. This board is ridiculous when it comes to the NBA.
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I'm not just making things up, I'm looking at metrics like win shares, box score plus minus, and vorp. Curry is having one of the top five seasons ever but not necessarily the clear cut best. Dunno how this could be described as a 'ridiculous' take
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You just said he hasn't done anything of note in the playoffs, he's two days removed from having an all-time playoff performance where he scored the most overtime points ever in an NBA game, hence the "ridiculous" call.
Curry plays less minutes than those guys did, which is why some counting stats downgrade the season. Playing a lot of minutes has value, too, so it's tough, but this season is definitely up there (#4 all time WS/48).
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I meant in comparison to others in the top 5 reg season category, for instance lebron has 4 or 5 top 20 postseasons ever while curry doesn't have one in the top 20. Look i'm not not trying to diminish a historic season, but i just wanted to point out he doesn't own the clear cut best season ever. And also i thought comparing him to lebron, his peer, as opposed to jordan seemed like a better idea than what was happening ITT.
Agreed
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The only comparison between Curry/Jordan is that Curry is the first player since Jordan that no matter what team you follow you check the sports shows and read the paper/online expecting to see what amazing thing he did on the court the previous night. Other than that no real comparison.
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Obviously Jordan has had the much better career but Curry right now is at Jordan's level. They do it completely differently. Jordan is much more athletic, bigger and stronger and the better defender but at the three primary basketball offensive skills dribbling, shooting and passing Curry is unequivocally better.
One thing that needs to be pointed out in this thread is that only recently the MVP votes have been public. In the past voters ballots were anonymous. This is probably the biggest factor in Curry being the first unanimous MVP. Voters can no longer vote for personal favorites with out being outed.
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Sooooo since Steve Nash was also a better dribbler,shooter and passer and won 2 straight mvps he was also on jordans level? Not sure what your point is. Jordans greatness goes beyond what his skills were. Its not the parts but the whole that determine greatness and as a whole Jordan was on another level. Just curious, how old are you?
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My point is the same it's been throughout the thread, for their careers obviously Jordan is better but for this season Curry is on Jordan's level. They both did it in different ways but they were equally dominant. Steve Nash was a great player but at no time did I think he was on Jordan's level or Curry's level, no clue why you brought him up. I'm 36, don't see how that's relevant. If you're into old people, my 72 year old dad who has been watching the NBA religiously since he's a little kid and is even more basketball obsessed than I am says he's never seen anything like Curry. Don't know why it's so hard for you and some others to accept how amazing Curry's season is. I've been a Jordan fan my whole life and in no way does anything Curry or any other player does detract from what Jordan did. If someday Curry has six or seven titles and a boatload of MVP's there can be a discussion.
Steve Nash is a great player, but his MVPs were the opposite of unanimous (and one was probably just wrong). He also never won a championship. Let me know when you find his seasons on this list. Him to Jordan/Curry is a much worse comparison.
Curry's greatness comes from his recognition that, by practicing the three point shoot relentlessly and making it the basic component of his game as a point guard, he has given himself a competitive edge over his opponents. Young players starting out will adopt Curry's style and future point guards will all be routinely shooting the three as the come up the floor until the NBA pushes the three point line back to where hitting a three becomes a challenge again.
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