Although it’s difficult to fathom, there seems to be a consensus that Stephen Curry — somehow, some way — is having an even better season than he had last year. In case you forgot, Curry was the league’s MVP in 2014-15 and led the Golden State Warriors to their first title in 40 years.
But as wonderfully good as Curry was a season ago, he’s putting last year to shame with the way he’s playing this year — or so most people believe. For example, I believe it; I think Curry’s playing at a higher level this year than last. Through 12 games, Curry is averaging 33.7 points per game on 52.1 percent shooting from the field, including 45.6 percent from beyond the arc. And perhaps the most important stat is that the Warriors are 12-0.
If Curry’s numbers were to hold, they would represent career-highs in points scored (by almost 10 points per game over closest season, by the way), field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage. Curry’s averaging 22 shots per game this year; last year he averaged 17. In other words, Curry is taking way more shots than he ever has, and he’s making them at a higher rate than he has in any other season of his pro career. That’s borderline incredible.
The question, though: Why is Curry playing better? Why has he been able to elevate his game? Why has he increased his efficiency from beyond the arc and inside it and raised his scoring average to a crazy number? There are likely many reasons for this, but perhaps the biggest is that he’s not playing a lot of point guard these days. Let’s face it 33.7 ppg., 5.9 apg., 3.4 tpg., are the stats of a two-guard.
Matt Steinmetz 