Blue is Me

Tag: curry

  • Why do some critics think Stephen Curry wouldn’t have thrived in the 80s or 90s NBA, and how valid are these arguments?

    He would have thrived, but he wouldn’t be as successful that’s for sure and that’s because the game was more physical and hand checking was allowed back then. Curry has undeniably benefitted from playing in a less physical no hand checking era.

    In the 80s and 90s he’d effectively be Mark Price with higher volume shooting. And that’s not an insult to Curry by the way – Mark Price was one of the best PGs in the league and underrated and in his healthy prime he was a top 3 PG in the league and one of the best shooters ever.

    So yeah, Curry in the 90s would be a higher volume Mark Price which means he’d probably be the top PG in the league still. Just maybe not the unanimous MVP level player he was in the modern era. He wouldn’t be quite as impactful as he is today but he’d still be very effective back then.

  • Is Bleacher Report crazy for putting Stephen Curry over Kobe Bryant in their recent all-time rankings?

    This got a lot of Kobe fans upset, unsurprisingly. But it’s not hard to upset Kobe fans – anytime he’s not mentioned in the GOAT convo (which he doesn’t belong in) they get upset and say you’re disrespecting him.

    https://youtu.be/v21twcD25wU

    His fans are probably the most annoying, overzealous fans of any sports figure I’ve seen. Literally hyping up everything he does like he’s some demi-god and then hating on Bron for any small mistake he made, they are the definition of hypocrisy and double standards. Good example is they shit on Lebron for the 2011 Finals and being beaten by the Mavs – yet give Kobe a pass and make excuses for him getting swept by the EXACT SAME TEAM.

    But Bleacher Report yes did put Kobe at #11 all time – behind Steph Curry. It goes deeper than that – BR voters ranked Kobe anywhere from #4 to #18 all time.

    Kobe is quite a polarizing figure when it comes to ranking him. No other player in the top 10 would have quite a divisive difference of opinion. When it comes to Kobe, I think people just have to understand, how he’s perceived by fans and other NBA players is often romanticized and seen with rose tinted glasses because of their emotional bias to him. His ‘mamba mentality’ and ‘killer instinct’ and ‘legendary work ethic’ and ‘closest to Jordan skillset’ contributes to this perception often overrides his actual achievements on the court.

    You take all those emotional feelings away and what you’re left with is a guy with 1 MVP, 2 FMVPs, 15x All-NBA, 12x All-Def and 5 rings in 20 seasons who averaged 25/5/5 on a mediocre 45% shooting and who neither raised or dropped his game in the playoffs – he maintained roughly the same level of production. This is his resume. And this is how websites like Bleacher Report and ESPN rank him. They put aside their feelings and rank him based on his resume only, which compared with other all time players, it’s probably right on the edge of the top 10 and that’s where he generally gets ranked by analysts. Fans and analysts often rank differently. Fans rank him a lot higher because of the emotional bias.

    Why is Curry ranked higher? Well personally, I would not although I see the argument. Curry is the better offensive player. I don’t care how much people talk about Kobe’s 81 points or his 50/60 point games, these are the result of a ball hogging type player. Kobe’s peak scoring is because of his hero ball antics, which are generally not good for the game of basketball. Curry is not only a lot more efficient, but he is a better team player than Kobe, and his scoring is because he is a naturally great shooter who can get hot streaks, in addition to his better passing abilities. Curry’s scoring is less of a double edged sword than Kobe’s scoring ( who can win or lose you games ). So I’ll take Curry’s offense over Kobe’s.

    Defensively, Kobe has the edge. Although Kobe is overrated defensively, he is definitely still a better defender than Curry. So other than defense, Kobe has more All-Stars, more All-NBA, 1 more ring and 1 more FMVP while Curry has 1 more MVP. Curry raises his game in the playoffs while Kobe’s stays the same.

    Overall, I would still rank Kobe higher although the gap between him and Curry is pretty close. Overall Kobe is a better player but Curry’s offense is superior and more conducive to team basketball. Personally, I think Hakeem could actually be ranked above both Kobe and Curry, and Moses Malone was completely left out of the top 20 which is disrespectful. Moses not being top 20 is to me much more disrespectful than Kobe not being top 10.

  • How do you feel about the Lakers blowing out the Warriors to end the defending champs season?

    I’m really happy, because it shuts up all those Curry fanboys online proclaiming that he was better than Lebron because he had a playoff record advantage. Whenever Curry beats Lebron, he’s always had the advantage. In 2015 Bron’s team was injured. In 2017–2018 Curry had a super stacked team behind him. But what we have seen so far is when Curry has played Bron’s teams on equal terms like in 2016, the 2021 play in, or just now the 2023 WCSF.. Bron always wins. Even 38 year old Bron. Because Bron is better. He does more on the floor than Curry. He’s a bigger stronger more athletic player than Curry. He’s a better rebounder than Curry. He’s a better passer than Curry.

    See, besides shooting, there’s nothing Curry really does better than Lebron. So that’s why it infuriated me that people said Curry was as good or better than Bron because he had 4 rings and better playoff record against them, those people don’t understand how unequal those matchups were. People who said Curry made his teammates better, well how come we didn’t see that in this series? All of Curry’s teammates didn’t show up? Hmm. I thought he made them all better? How come Austin Reaves, Lonnie Walker, Rui etc been outplaying them? I thought Bron made his teammates worse?

    https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-twitter-reacts-lakers-winning-050854483.html

    ^ People were literally betting on a DOG because they wanted Bron to lose that badly smh lol

    Now that we had an equal matchup, and Bron blows out the Warriors, now hopefully we can shut that crowd up ^.

    Edit: Nope I guess they are not shutting up and just being super salty now with the excuses and revisionist history.. somehow Bron has a super stacked team now and Curry had no help.. (just a reminder that Warriors were the favorites going into the series) and somehow it was ‘rigged’ because of the FTs…

    I didn’t know Reaves, Rui, Lonnie, D-Lo etc were all of sudden a superteam but ok…

    ^ The Lakers have an interior game where they drive in and post people up, Warriors have a perimeter game where they shoot lots of 3s. Which one do you think leads to drawing more fouls?

    These idiots so salty

  • Who is better, Steph Curry or Kobe Bryant?

    I think this is an interesting question. Both Curry and Kobe are hovering around that ‘edge of top 10’ greatness (yes I know a lot of Kobe fans put him in GOAT convo but lets ignore those people).

    Let’s break down their strengths and weaknesses:

    Scoring: Both are fantastic scorers, but do it in different ways. Kobe will usually break down defenders 1v1 and use his vast array of offensive moves to get a bucket. Everyone knows Kobe’s offensive arsenal he has almost every move in his bag. Curry prefers to either drive in for a layup or shoot a long range missile. Curry is more efficient because his shot selection is a lot better most of the time and he rarely takes ill-advised shots. Kobe just doesn’t care about his shot selection and will shoot even with 4 defenders in his face. Both can easily average over 30 PPG+ but of course Kobe has the higher peak (35 PPG) because in his prime he shot a lot more than Curry did. I would call this category dead even.

    Rebounding: Kobe for this one. He was more athletic and taller than Curry, easier for him to grab rebounds.

    Passing: Curry. Curry is not an all time great passer like CP3, Magic or Stockton but he is still very solid and that’s why he is the PG for his team. Kobe I don’t think has the ability to play PG, Kobe’s best passing was when he played with Shaq but he was always a reluctant passer even within the triangle offense.

    Defense: Kobe. Although I think Kobe is an overrated and inconsistent defender, when Kobe is focused he can be a very solid defender. Curry is just a below average defender whether he’s focused or not.

    Shooting: obviously Curry.

    Awards: Kobe has 5 rings, 1 MVP, 2 FMVP compared to Curry’s 4 rings, 2 MVPs, 1 FMVP. Curry was the best player for 2 rings (2015, 2022) and second best on another two (2017, 2018). Kobe was the best player for 2 rings (2009, 2010) and second best for three (2000–2002). It’s fairly close but Kobe’s extra ring probably gives him the advantage here.

    Longevity: Kobe has far more All-NBA selections and higher career totals, as Kobe has quite a long prime (2001–2013) of 13 years whereas Curry was injured quite often early in his career.

    Overall I have Kobe ranked slightly higher all time. I think Kobe’s longevity and his defense gives him the main advantage here, but if Curry manages to play at a high level for a little bit longer and/or gets another ring then he might pass Kobe. As a team player, Curry of course has an advantage there too.

    Note I’m only using objective metrics here to judge players, not subjective unquantifiable stuff like ‘he changed the game / mamba mentality etc’.

  • How well would the Chicago Bulls have done in the 1990s decade if they had a prime Stephen Curry instead of Michael Jordan?

    Honestly they wouldn’t have been able to win as many titles, or at all.

    The problem with Curry playing in the 90s is that the era was just so much more physical than today.
    The NBA changed its hand checking rules in 2005, meaning the defender can no longer have a hand in the player’s face, cannot grab them, cannot check them etc which gives guards like Curry a lot more space and room to operate, which is greatly beneficial to Curry’s game which relies on pull up and stepback 3s.

    That’s not to say Curry won’t be a good player. Steph Curry offensively in the 90s would be an improved Mark Price.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sua9u318wGo&t=34s

    And if you think that’s an insult to Curry, it’s not. Mark Price was a damn good player in his prime. He could split a double team for a nice drive in or run the pick and roll well or just shoot from anywhere on the floor since he was a fantastic shooter just like Curry, with great handles.

    So Curry compared to Price has an even bigger offensive array of moves in addition to the shooting abilities and handles. Making him quite deadly in the 90s. However since he can be guarded all the way out in the perimeter with hand checking allowed, his FG% won’t be as high as today. Nor does he have the mastery of the midrange that Jordan had. Nor does Curry have any post game to speak of like Jordan had.

    Lets get another thing out of the way – Curry isn’t as clutch as Jordan is. He doesn’t have any playoff buzzer beaters, he’s not known for taking over games in the 4th quarter, he trails Jordan significantly in game winners etc and some of those Bulls games i.e 1998 Finals Game 6 – Jordan would just take over the game at times in order to will his team to a win. Not to mention stuff like the Flu game etc I’m not sure that Curry has that in him.

    I’m sure that Curry could play well in the triangle given that he’s already very unselfish so I don’t think there’s a problem there.

    The other problem is.. defensively. Curry isn’t in the same world as Jordan defensively.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9w6DV8dHc0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JWq-kJ5hVo

    In the 90s, the Bulls could and would execute a full court press (or half court press) which Jordan, Pippen and Grant would start pressing the offense as soon as they got the possession. And since its the 90s, they would get all up in their faces. This is the type of intense defense that Curry has never had to do in the modern era. Nor does Curry have the lateral quickness I think to keep up some of these offensive players. Can you imagine Curry guarding and trying to keep up with Mitch Richmond or Kevin Johnson? Those guys were way more athletic and could easily just blow him. That’s the type of athleticism Jordan and Pippen had – but not Curry. Curry would get exposed defensively in the 90s.

    That’s why I think the Bulls with Curry would likely make it to the 2nd round or even ECF – of course having Pippen or Grant/Rodman would still help defensively, but Curry’s perimeter game would severely be impacted by the 90s defensive rules and not having Jordan’s defensive abilities is further going to be an issue for the team. Thats why I cannot see Curry winning many or any titles with the Bulls in the 90s.

  • What team of 5 if any, made up of anyone to ever play in the NBA when they were in their prime, could beat the following in a best of 7 series: PG-Steph Curry, SG- Michael Jordan, SF- Lebron James, PF Tim Duncan, C-Wilt Chamberlain?

    For this answer I’m not going to make a team of just the next best players at those positions, rather I’m looking at this from a defense perspective.

    The key is I’m going to exploit the size mismatches with players I think are good defensively to give these players a lot of trouble, and at the same time can get me buckets when I need them.

    PG: Walt Frazier

    Yes, I’m going with Frazier because at 6′4 he has a slightly height advantage over Curry and also he’s one of the best defensive guards to play the game that will definitely give Curry some trouble. While Gary Payton could have been another alternative here, I like Frazier’s better scoring and clutch abilities compared to Payton and they’re comparable on defense. Jerry West is another option, although I picked Frazier’s defense by a hair (this is because Frazier actually was All-Def 1st team and West 2nd team in 1969).

    SG: Sidney Moncrief

    Ok, Moncrief isn’t as tall as Jordan, and lets be honest nobody can really stop Jordan. But Moncrief did about as well as anyone could, because he’s one of the few players to have actually beaten Jordan in a playoff series! Joe Dumars is another defensive SG that could go here too, but I like Moncrief’s explosiveness and athleticism a bit more, and he’s a 2x DPOY. Moncrief can’t contain Jordan (nobody can) but he can probably try to do about as well as anyone to limit him.

    SF: Kawhi Leonard

    Yes, this was tough. Lebron is a very hard player to stop and contain, so defensively I’m not sure who I could put here. Kawhi, Pippen and Havlicek are probably the top choices. Pippen and Havlicek were great help defenders, Kawhi is more of an on ball defender, but Kawhi’s offensive abilities are probably the best of the three, while being a wash on defense with Pippen and Hondo. Also, Kawhi DID win Finals MVP for limiting Lebron as much as he could after all. Bob Dandridge could have been another option. Rodman was another option I mulled over but he had 0 offense and thus I can’t rely on him for any scoring at all. I could have also just disregarded the defense, and gone for ‘Lebron like’ players here like George McGinnis, Connie Hawkins, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Grant Hill, Dr J or Billy Cunningham but none of those guys could really defend well so I’m going with Kawhi.

    PF: Hakeem Olajuwon

    Yes, I’m putting Hakeem in the PF position. I mean when you have Duncan (who plays like a C) I think it’s only fair that I put a guy here who can match up with him in size, while being even better in the post and having even better footwork. Duncan is tough but I think Hakeem will have a good chance against him.

    C: Bill Walton

    Yes I’m putting in a prime Bill Walton against Wilt. Prime Bill Walton is nothing to shake a stick at, he was basically a white taller Bill Russell with better offensive skills. He was the perfect team player, a fantastic passer for his size, high BBIQ, a great defender, AND he was 7ft and he had some offensive skills. Since Russell bothered Wilt so much, I figured Walton should at least be able to bother him too.