Yesterday after the show Lake – you know Mr. Lewis (CEO of Sports Journey Network) – and I found ourselves engaged in a conversation on the explosive exploits of Kevin Durant. As fate would have it we must have placed the curse on him because later on that evening his string of 29 consecutive games of scoring 25 points or more ended.
Lake suggested that Durant was one of the five best shooters in the game today. I agreed. We then took an attempt to name who those five sharp shooters were. Of course Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant led the conversation. Before coming up a little lame with additional shooters, Ray Allen and Carmelo Anthony were added to the list. We probably should have included Dirk Nowitski and Joe Johnson.
How could any knowledgeable basketball fan argue with those six choices?
Well, approximately one hour following that phone conversation I thought, ‘what in Boone’s Farm Wine’ was I thinking. How in the world could I, we, exclude the dude with, by far, the coldest stroke in the League today, and who will maintain possession of the coldest stroke for the next 10 to 12 years?
There is a rookie out in San Francisco who dons No. 30 on his jersey and is employed by the Golden State Warriors. His name is Stephen Curry. There is no one in the League (sorry Black Mamba, Jesus and Melo) with a purer jumper than Curry’s – hands down. His stroke is pure honey – its Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
I watched him drop 32 on the Atlanta Hawks converting on 13 of 18 shots, and I peeped him struggle against the Los Angeles Lakers a few nights earlier missing 17 of 21 shots including nine of 10 shots from the arch. But regardless if he is dead on fire or misfiring that dude can flat out shoot.
The true testament to Curry’s (who strokes the rock even better than his dad Dell Curry) string music can be seen not when he comes off a screen or a pick-n-pop, but when he’s dribbling in the open court. Defenders are so conscious of his stroke that if Curry gives a slight head fake or hesitation, especially around the arch, it usually forces the defender to attempt to quickly close out on him leaving them vulnerable to be driven to the hoop on or for the sharpshooter to attempt an uncontested 17 foot layup – 2 points.
Mr. Curry, the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, is currently scoring 15.3 ppg, connecting on 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from the arch. He accomplishing these impressive numbers with very few plays called for him.
Hey Lake, here’s a thought for you. Think of what the Oklahoma City Thunder would truly accomplish this year had they had the nerve to select Curry instead of James Harden! The starting lineup would comprise, Durant and Jeff Green at the forward spots; Nenad Krstic at the five, Russell Westbrook at the point and butter at the two. That’s a helluva lineup. With Curry position in the corner on one baseline; Durant above the arch on the opposite side and Westbrook in the middle with the rock the Thunder would be unstoppable.
In the three games that the Thunder played against the Warriors Curry has outplayed Harden, scoring 59 points on 22 of 39 shooting (56 percent), while Harden scored 38 points on 10 of 28 shooting or 35 percent.
Thanks for the call Lake. The conversation definitely started churning my general manager’s hat.
Reggie Williams, an award-winning editor and journalist, is reachable at rwilliams@itsflawless.com