IS STEPH CURRY KILLING BASKETBALL?

This ridiculous shot by Stephen Curry from the Pistons logo re-ignited an ongoing debate, is curry’s style of play hurting basketball? it goes back to his former coach Mark Jackson stating “to a degree, he’s hurt the game” in reference to the point guard’s 3 point shooting game and how it is having a negative effect on the way young approach playing basketball. Curry shrugged of Jacksons’s comments saying, “I don’t know what he means by that. If you can shoot, shoot. If you can’t, stop.” All the hoopla about Steph’s 3 point shooting has overshadowed the improvements he has made to his inner perimeter shooting, and, the number of shots he gets off the board. To understand this better, let’s take a look at his offensive numbers this season.

Curry is the leading scorer in the NBA with an average of 29.9 PPG (Points Per Game). He is undoubtedly the leading 3 point shooter in the league with a ridiculous 45% 3 PT FG (Field Goal) average. The glamour and hype surrounding his 3 point shooting has taken focus away from his numbers inside the 3 point semicircle. 46.6% of his field goal attempts have been non 3 pointers, with 30% being taken within 5 feet. Impressive numbers for a 6 foot 3inch Point Guard. Shooting 72.7% from the restricted area, curry is the leading scorer among guards (minimum of 40 shots made). The numbers are an indication to what most basketball pundits have repeatedly stated, Stephen Curry is the complete basketball player, and, this season he has shown us his game is so much more than making 3’s.

Upon analysis of shooting statistics over the last twenty years; there has been an increase in the number of 3 point FGA (Field Goal Attempts) in the league. The 95-96 season, when Chicago Bulls went 72-10 in the regular season, offensive stat's suggest a lowly 20% of total shots taken were 3 PT FGA. Numbers for the 08-09 weren’t significantly higher either, a slight increase to 22.4%. 2014-15 regular season saw a significant rise to 26.8%. The statistics show us that the sport like cricket, football, etc. is evolving in terms of the style of play. Dominated by power forwards and centres previously NBA, now, is enriched with players who handle the ball better and are more adept in creating space i.e point guards & shooting guards. The style of play for 30 teams in the association is not dictated by one person/one team alone. Personnel on the roster and their strengths play a huge role in this. A large number of the teams possess top notch point guards and it is this shift in the pool of players the teams is able to harness that the change has stemmed from. These are exciting times for the league where the focus isn’t on tall and powerful forwards/centres. Basketball is now the game of the guards!



First published on www.sportskeeda.com