![]() In part, that’s because he’s compensated for worse shooting efficiency with stronger defense than is typical. And according to NBA Shot Charts’ RAPM, which adjusts on/off ratings based on the identity of teammates and opponents, Curry is by far the league’s most impactful player this season. Curry’s on/off differential is plus-21.9 points per 100 possessions, according to CtG-the second-best mark in the league, after Nikola Jokic’s plus-23.2. The same is true now: Even a slumping Curry completely changes the tenor of a game. Everything you generate for us is so positive. The tempo is so different when you’re out there. “It’s not always tied together,” Kerr said. At one point during a March 2017 game, on-court microphones captured Steve Kerr showing his star guard’s poor shooting numbers alongside a positive plus-minus figure. High-Volume, High-Efficiency Scorers PlayerĬurry’s previous slump, half a decade ago, offers another lesson for the current campaign. Let’s start by adding a column to that earlier chart, to show how Curry is faring relative not only to his own past, but to the rest of the league this season. Yet Curry doesn’t even need to bounce back all the way to his prime shooting numbers to win MVP. He has always rebounded from these dips just fine. That didn’t stop Curry from spearheading perhaps the most potent attack in league history, as the Warriors rampaged to a 16-1 playoff record and a title. During a swoon in February and March 2017, his 3-point percentage dropped below 30 percent for a 15-game stretch. But he has fallen that far numerous times throughout his career-and even lower. Through his past 15 games, Curry is shooting just 35 percent on 3s, equivalent to the league average this season. At the end of December, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton found that Curry was the NBA’s second-most inconsistent player of the early season. ![]() It’s worth remembering that essentially every player is streaky-especially one as reliant on 3-pointers as Curry. After all, his slump has barely lasted a month, and even that stretch includes such heaters like his 46-point outing against the Grizzlies on December 23. Cleaning the GlassĬurry will probably break out of his swoon soon. Indeed, his finishing rate at the rim has fallen a smidge, from the mid-60 percent range to just 60 this season, according to Cleaning the Glass.īut his struggles extend beyond the paint: Curry is less accurate this season from every distance, and it is actually his midrange jumper that has abandoned him the most so far. Like the rest of the league, Curry is drawing fewer fouls than in recent seasons, which might be contributing to his struggles from 2-point range. Based on analysis of Second Spectrum data His diet of 3-point shots is one of the toughest in the league, with few corner 3s and open looks, so 38.4 percent, on a career-high number of attempts, is still a tremendous mark.īut by that same analysis, Curry is making fewer 2-pointers this season than we’d expect. Based on Second Spectrum tracking, which compares a player’s actual eFG% to his expected eFG% based on factors like shot location and defender distance, Curry is still making many more 3s than expected. Steph Curry’s Advanced Offensive Stats StatisticĬurry’s 3-point struggles have received the most attention, as his current 38.4 percent mark would easily be the lowest in a season in his career-but the bigger problem is actually his 2-point performance. Yet even a compromised Curry represents one of the NBA’s most potent offensive threats.Īs the Warriors reach the halfway mark, these are two incongruous yet true statements: First, Curry is suffering through his worst offensive season since becoming an All-Star eight years ago and second, Curry might be the MVP anyway. The NBA’s new 3-point king has slumped since a 4-for-21 showing against the Suns on November 30, with an especially poor showing last week, when he shot a combined 8-for-41 against the Heat and Mavericks. The one hiccup has come from the most surprising place: Stephen Curry. ![]() Draymond Green is the favorite to win his second Defensive Player of the Year award. Klay Thompson is back, and the role players are all fitting in. A team widely predicted to be a fringe contender instead holds the NBA’s best net rating (plus-8.5) and second-best record (30-10) heading into its 41st game Thursday against Milwaukee. The Warriors have enjoyed just about the best half-season imaginable-at least, for any season in which they don’t break the wins record. ![]()
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