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Curry is the #1 on the team by virtue of longevity. I also agree that he makes the team better individually than Durant individually, but a lot of that comes from his comfortability and the club's comfortability with him...
Resume to resume, Durant is the better player, has shown it over a longer period of time. KD is the #2 player of this era of NBA ball and there isn't a good argument for anyone else in his place. There are about five guys you could throw in with Curry for #3-8, so if were just going by consistency and resume, it's going to be Durant over Curry...
Though I see Curry as the #1, The Finals should tell us who is who. I think anybody being reasonable can admit that both Durant and Curry have wavered in moments the team needed them most. Putting those two together should alleviate that, but we'll see...
Green is #3, would be a #2 anywhere else, isnt a true #1 anywhere. Green is really good and this year can be argued as a fringe Top 10-12 player, but he is in large part a product of the system, coaching, and players around him. Green alone, hypothetically if the Warriors didn't have the Big 2, is not enough to make a team a championship contender...Green paired with an elite #1 is enough for anybody to contend....
Thompson is #4. He isn't a true #1 either, but I think he could be a good #2 again. He looks like he wants out of there and those rumors have been circulating and will only pick up steam after The Finals....especially if they lose...
Curry is the #1 on the team by virtue of longevity. I also agree that he makes the team better individually than Durant individually, but a lot of that comes from his comfortability and the club's comfortability with him...
Resume to resume, Durant is the better player, has shown it over a longer period of time. KD is the #2 player of this era of NBA ball and there isn't a good argument for anyone else in his place. There are about five guys you could throw in with Curry for #3-8, so if were just going by consistency and resume, it's going to be Durant over Curry...
Though I see Curry as the #1, The Finals should tell us who is who. I think anybody being reasonable can admit that both Durant and Curry have wavered in moments the team needed them most. Putting those two together should alleviate that, but we'll see...
Green is #3, would be a #2 anywhere else, isnt a true #1 anywhere. Green is really good and this year can be argued as a fringe Top 10-12 player, but he is in large part a product of the system, coaching, and players around him. Green alone, hypothetically if the Warriors didn't have the Big 2, is not enough to make a team a championship contender...Green paired with an elite #1 is enough for anybody to contend....
Thompson is #4. He isn't a true #1 either, but I think he could be a good #2 again. He looks like he wants out of there and those rumors have been circulating and will only pick up steam after The Finals....especially if they lose...
If Curry was a true number one they wouldn't have lost 3 in a row to lose the Finals last year. Like someone said above, the highest for him is 1a since he doesn't have that take over quality that leaders show in the post season.
Losing the Finals, even in abysmal fashion, doesn't mean you aren't the No. 1 option on your team. If Curry can't be a No. 1 option because he blew a 3-1 lead against the Cavs, then how can Durant be a No. 1 option considering he blew a 3-1 lead against the Warriors?
Besides, I give Curry the benefit of the doubt last year seeing how he suffered two injuries at the most inopportune time of the season.
Curry is the #1 on the team by virtue of longevity. I also agree that he makes the team better individually than Durant individually, but a lot of that comes from his comfortability and the club's comfortability with him...
Resume to resume, Durant is the better player, has shown it over a longer period of time. KD is the #2 player of this era of NBA ball and there isn't a good argument for anyone else in his place. There are about five guys you could throw in with Curry for #3-8, so if were just going by consistency and resume, it's going to be Durant over Curry...
Though I see Curry as the #1, The Finals should tell us who is who. I think anybody being reasonable can admit that both Durant and Curry have wavered in moments the team needed them most. Putting those two together should alleviate that, but we'll see...
Green is #3, would be a #2 anywhere else, isnt a true #1 anywhere. Green is really good and this year can be argued as a fringe Top 10-12 player, but he is in large part a product of the system, coaching, and players around him. Green alone, hypothetically if the Warriors didn't have the Big 2, is not enough to make a team a championship contender...Green paired with an elite #1 is enough for anybody to contend....
Thompson is #4. He isn't a true #1 either, but I think he could be a good #2 again. He looks like he wants out of there and those rumors have been circulating and will only pick up steam after The Finals....especially if they lose...
Everyone seems to forget that Curry last year had one of the greatest offensive seasons in NBA history, following on his prior MVP performance. Durant's a great player and an unstoppable scorer, but Curry's been the best player on the best team for the last 2 years (I would say 3, including this one). I think if you are looking at the last 3 years, Durant is #3 in the NBA.
There is no single player that alone makes a team a championship contender--the competition is too good. You are underestimating Green. Green is the NBA's best defender. He anchors the NBA's best defense. He's also a multi-talented offensive player. His Bball IQ is off the charts. Green is the epitome of a winning basketball player. Take your glamor stats elsewhere (I hear there's a player putting up triple doubles every night who's been at home since Round 1 of the playoffs). Green will dominate the defensive end and it will barely show up in a simple stat sheet.
Durant is an undeniably great player. He has a vast arsenal on offense, and elite on-ball defense. I don't discount his greatness, but watch the Warriors when Durant is on the floor without Curry and Green. The offense is much more stagnant, and the defense is not as crisp.
Thompson will be around for quite some time. He's not going to be the best player on a championship team. He is going to be an elite 3 and D wing who is a major factor for a winner. He doesn't want out, he just has always looked peculiar--especially when he's not shooting well. He is signed through the '18-19 season (that's two more years--the cap situation will undeniably be challenging, but we shall see). His shot volume has barely dipped this year. He's not shooting well in the playoffs, but he is defending well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by moneymkt
Curry doesn't play like a number one.
This is where casual fans falter. They want a dominant ISO wing, a la Durant, Lebron, MJ, Kobe--hell, they would take a Jimmy Butler or a Paul George over Curry. They are wrong.
Curry has a transcendent game. His unraveling of defenses is sublime. No other player has ever replicated his set of skills. No defensive scheme has been developed that can contain them.
Losing the Finals, even in abysmal fashion, doesn't mean you aren't the No. 1 option on your team. If Curry can't be a No. 1 option because he blew a 3-1 lead against the Cavs, then how can Durant be a No. 1 option considering he blew a 3-1 lead against the Warriors?
Besides, I give Curry the benefit of the doubt last year seeing how he suffered two injuries at the most inopportune time of the season.
He was the number option last season but I'm saying he is not a true leader. A team with LeBron James is not losing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. This season KD is the number option because he plays like it and curry plays more like a sidekick.
No defensive scheme has been developed that can contain them.
Hahahahaha this is a lie, but okay....
The rest of your post is valid. I care as less for the glamour stats as you do, trust me. It's the reason why I've said a player having a great season doesn't make a player better than Lebron James. I'm with you, people can stuff the glamour stats...
In basketball, hell really in sports period, we tend to define eras by the decade. So when I say that Durant is #2 for this era, I am saying since the 2009-10 season. This decade. Curry has been good for awhile; he's only been a great player since 2014 (and I'm being generous, his coming out season was really 2015). Durant's status as a great player covers a longer period of time by multiple seasons. His offensive skill is arguably deeper and more diverse than Curry's. Curry's signature is being an insanely superior 3-point shooter, which made him virtually unguardable. But that's it. I think most people would take Durant's skill set over Curry's...
Curry has had a great 3-year run. He isn't a better basketball player than Kevin Durant, but he is the #1 on the team and de facto leader...
I'm certain Durant would love to win the Finals MVP, and I hope he does, but Curry can control who gets what amount of shot attempts, so if Curry wants the Finals MVP then Durant won't be able to get it (unless Curry shoots uncharacteristically poorly).
I understand the argument, and I think it's fair to point out, but I think it's also fair to point out that Lebron and Jordan approached the game differently. People want Lebron to have this Dirty Harry, gunslinger, Jordan kill em all mentality, but that's never been his game. His entire history dating to high school is that of a passer first, so it's not equal rationale. And he may not have Jordan's moved but at this point in the game, there should be no doubt that when Lebron has asserted himself as a scorer, He's been as dominant as anybody whose ever played the game. There are a litany of examples to support this...
And his superior level of play as a distributor and elevating teammates around him is something Jordan backers choose to overlook...
But it is fair to say that he hasn't always had the mental aggression like Jordan when he's needed it. Last night falls into that box. Go down swinging! We all understand a bad game, but 9 shots? I just wish he had a more aggressive countenance in moments such as that, and has shown it before, then other times he won't. It's just not naturally a part of his nature...he and Jordan approach the game differently, bit this is a fair point!
But is LeBron a superior distributor?
We saw what happened when Jordan played PG, racking up triple-doubles like crazy.
And a couple of years later Jordan averaged 11.4 assists per game in the 1991 NBA Finals.
Also at the defensive end, Jordan was a steals machine, and wasn't reliant on gambling for them, as he also was great at bodying up.
Jordan had shot-blocking seasons of 1.6bpg and 1.5bpg, and shot-blocking is supposed to be LeBron's thing.
Jordan can do whatever he wants at both ends.
And Pippen wasn't even an all-star in 1991 when they won their first championship, whereas LeBron needed Bosh AND Wade.
And Jordan literally elevated Pippen from scratch, and Grant.
Everyone seems to forget that Curry last year had one of the greatest offensive seasons in NBA history, following on his prior MVP performance. Durant's a great player and an unstoppable scorer, but Curry's been the best player on the best team for the last 2 years (I would say 3, including this one). I think if you are looking at the last 3 years, Durant is #3 in the NBA.
There is no single player that alone makes a team a championship contender--the competition is too good. You are underestimating Green. Green is the NBA's best defender. He anchors the NBA's best defense. He's also a multi-talented offensive player. His Bball IQ is off the charts. Green is the epitome of a winning basketball player. Take your glamor stats elsewhere (I hear there's a player putting up triple doubles every night who's been at home since Round 1 of the playoffs). Green will dominate the defensive end and it will barely show up in a simple stat sheet.
Durant is an undeniably great player. He has a vast arsenal on offense, and elite on-ball defense. I don't discount his greatness, but watch the Warriors when Durant is on the floor without Curry and Green. The offense is much more stagnant, and the defense is not as crisp.
Thompson will be around for quite some time. He's not going to be the best player on a championship team. He is going to be an elite 3 and D wing who is a major factor for a winner. He doesn't want out, he just has always looked peculiar--especially when he's not shooting well. He is signed through the '18-19 season (that's two more years--the cap situation will undeniably be challenging, but we shall see). His shot volume has barely dipped this year. He's not shooting well in the playoffs, but he is defending well.
This is where casual fans falter. They want a dominant ISO wing, a la Durant, Lebron, MJ, Kobe--hell, they would take a Jimmy Butler or a Paul George over Curry. They are wrong.
Curry has a transcendent game. His unraveling of defenses is sublime. No other player has ever replicated his set of skills. No defensive scheme has been developed that can contain them.
Not to pick on a small point in long winded tribute to the Warriors...but Draymond"s
"winning move" in the Finals last year cost the Warriors
Not to pick on a small point in long winded tribute to the Warriors...but Draymond"s
"winning move" in the Finals last year cost the Warriors
Deny it if you like, but he is a winning basketball player.
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