EDIT: New Question, is LeBron the second greatest player of all time? So, has Steph Curry overtaken

[a55a5in11]

Steph chooses not to use his mcl as an excuse, why is that so hard for you to accept? Mcl injury is not even being close to "knicks and bruises", you are blind. The sheer fact that many are saying that Steph doesn't have the same burst or elevating as usual tells you all you need to know. It's not like only a few people are saying that.

According to these dudes, since he cooked for a few games post-injury and he said, "I am back" while on fire, he was healthy

Yeah it's game 7 of the finals. Everybody has some kind on ache and pain at that point of the season. There's 0 excuses for Curry's disappearance

 

[mr s j king]

According to these dudes, since he cooked for a few games post-injury and he said, "I am back" while on fire, he was healthy

Bro the nizzle did the George Jefferson to midcourt, pointed down at his fully healthy knee, and said "I'm here. I'm back!"
What else are we supposed to think while sitting on our couches watching the game
If he was still hurt Ayesha and NT would have been the first to let us know

 

[moe200069]

According to these dudes, since he cooked for a few games post-injury and he said, "I am back" while on fire, he was healthy

Bro the nizzle did the George Jefferson to midcourt, pointed down at his fully healthy knee, and said "I'm here. I'm back!"
What else are we supposed to think while sitting on our couches watching the game
If he was still hurt Ayesha and NT would have been the first to let us know

fam, half of NT was claiming that Dame could easily replace steph on GSW after Por won game 3. that kinda preposterous crap wasn't limited to NT, however. I'm sure steph took exception to it and balled out the next game. claiming he was "back" is not the same as him being 100% healthy.

and the argument of "it's game 7 of the finals, everyone is injured at that point" doesn't mean **** considering steph injured his MCL barely a month prior. here's the catch-22 for steph. He rests during the playoffs to fully heal, he's called SOFT. He plays through the injury and doesn't play to his usual standard, he's called TRASH and "disappeared" in the finals.

 

[Jokegeta]

According to these dudes, since he cooked for a few games post-injury and he said, "I am back" while on fire, he was healthy

STOP MAKING EXCUSES!
he was in the court playing so he was fine. NO ONE is 100% come the NBA finals. The Cavs just know how to put d on curry. Curry played the same way in last years finals. Stop making excuses as if the man was injured to where he couldn't play on the court. The Cavs got physical with him, and that's why he failed, that injury in the first rnd had NOTHING to do with it. Stop all the crying and DEAL WITH IT

 

[oldhotdogwater]

His extreme detractors acted like his defense went from being elite to current Paul Pierce or something

sure, his defense isn't what it once was, but it's terribly overstated

Right. Even Wizards MJ could lock up players when he wanted

 

[shoeking2102]

I'm admitting he doesn't need to play hard defense against scrubs, but he's an elite defender when it matters. Imagine Lebron hustling hard like Dellovadova in a pointless game against the Wizards. That's what most of you want him to do.


Dude is a top 5 defender, if you really need him to make a stop in a big game.

"When it matters" now you just moving goal post my man

Regardless if he "doesnt" need to do it every night, the fact of the matter is he doesnt. The end lol

 

[thegrandpuba26]

damn yall really gonna use one series to discredit what this cat has done? yall be so damn quick to make blanket statements about a players' entire body of work based off of a handful of games.

The sheer irony in this statement. 

 

[leavemeglazzies]

STOP MAKING EXCUSES!
he was in the court playing so he was fine. NO ONE is 100% come the NBA finals. The Cavs just know how to put d on curry. Curry played the same way in last years finals. Stop making excuses as if the man was injured to where he couldn't play on the court. The Cavs got physical with him, and that's why he failed, that injury in the first rnd had NOTHING to do with it. Stop all the crying and DEAL WITH IT

He was healthy enough to attempt and make 360 warm up dunks during the finals though:



But this was when they were up 3-1 and he thought that he would be lifting the NBA and Finals MVP trophies a couple of hours later, so everything was good then.

And a reminder that he got sonned by Matthew Dellevadova in multiple games in last year's finals.

The only thing that was injured was his ****.

 

[slick vitale]

It's going to be funny to watch the next star you guys build up and then turn on when they get too good.

It's also funny how ppl are acting like Stephen Curry's career is over. 7 years in, 2 mvps, 1 chip.

I'll only imagine how many times this thread gets bumped over the years when he continues to add to that resume.

Where have I seen this story before? Lebron James ring a bell? 

 

[slick vitale]

 
 1 chip that didn't have much to do with him.

 

[slick vitale]

 
Ok I reached a little but he didn't win MVP, he wasn't the reason why the won.

He will have a solid career but I think he is already at his peak. He will be a Ray Allen in the future for a second coming of Lebron.

So when teams win basketball games...one player is the reason? 

Got it.

Shouldn't Lebron have about 10 chips then?

 

[wavycrocket]

Lebron played at a high level throughout his career, Curry was a late bloomer, not a good comparison. It's more like 2 years, 2 MVPs, 1 chip that didn't have much to do with him.


Don't get me wrong Steph is great, he'll have a solid career but putting him in the same league as any of the greats is laughable.  But yea I'm excited to see where he goes from here.

How did Curry's 1 chip have nothing to do with him. He averaged 26/6/5 in the Finals last year. And 28ppg for the playoffs. Dude definitley helped his team win. 37 in game 5 last year. 25 in game 6 close out.

This notion that he didn't show up in last years finals is just false.

That's like saying Kobe isn't the reason the Lakers won the Chip in 2010 since he went 6/24 in game 7...and Paul Gasol had the better series.

And at "solid career". Dude is already a HOF'er. His breakout season was 2012-2013...he has some work to do to climb into the all time discussion...but his career trajectory looks as bright as one could have in the NBA.

 

[slick vitale]

 
Lebron has been the best player on the floor in all his championships, Curry has NOT.  Curry has not been the clear most valuable player on the court during the playoffs. That's what I meant buddy.

 I wonder how long you're going to keep up this pretending to be into basketball thing up. 

I'm going to risk sounding like an elitist here but the more you post in here, you make it painfully obvious that you're (at best) a casual fan of the sport. The logic you're putting into some of these comments is bizarre

 Which is cool and I'm not knocking...just merely an observation.

And 

 at "solid career". Dude is already a HOF'er. His breakout season was 2012-2013...he has some work to do to climb into the all time discussion...but his career trajectory looks as bright as one could have in the NBA.

I'm still crying at the "late bloomer" comment 

 As if son was just out here being JJ Redick until a year ago or something 

 

[Proposition Joe]

He was healthy enough to attempt and make 360 warm up dunks during the finals though:




But this was when they were up 3-1 and he thought that he would be lifting the NBA and Finals MVP trophies a couple of hours later, so everything was good then.

And a reminder that he got sonned by Matthew Dellevadova in multiple games in last year's finals.

The only thing that was injured was his ****.

It was all good just a week ago

 

[Proposition Joe]

Lebron has been the best player on the floor in all his championships, Curry has NOT.  Curry has not been the clear most valuable player on the court during the playoffs. That's what I meant buddy.

Curry is better than youre giving him credit for but Everything in this paragraph is a fact. I'm not sure how the "elite basketball experts" in here disagree with this

 

[dland24]

That's like saying Kobe isn't the reason the Lakers won the Chip in 2010 since he went 6/24 in game 7...and Paul Gasol had the better series.

The funny thing is, there are a ton of morons who actually believe this.  Tons.

 

[jumpman cbt2]

Curry is better than youre giving him credit for but Everything in this paragraph is a fact. I'm not sure how the "elite basketball experts" in here disagree with this

He surely isn't trash but also not the elite player he had been hyped during the regular season.
When it counted most he underperformed.
Would NBA legends like MJ, Bird, Magic, Kareem be what they are if they were having great seasons but could not deliver in the post season?
Great players normally go on turbo mode in the postseason to lead their team.

 

[Peep Game]

He was healthy enough to attempt and make 360 warm up dunks during the finals though:




But this was when they were up 3-1 and he thought that he would be lifting the NBA and Finals MVP trophies a couple of hours later, so everything was good then.

And a reminder that he got sonned by Matthew Dellevadova in multiple games in last year's finals.

The only thing that was injured was his ****.

It was all good just a week ago

 

[dland24]

He surely isn't trash but also not the elite player he had been hyped during the regular season.
When it counted most he underperformed.
Would NBA legends like MJ, Bird, Magic, Kareem be what they are if they were having great seasons but could not deliver in the post season?
Great players normally go on turbo mode in the postseason to lead their team.

While I agree with you that Curry underperformed by a lot in the Finals this year, there are many examples of All Time Greats struggling early in their playoff careers only to turn it on later.  Since I assume you are young, I assume you are familiar with the careers of Kobe Bryant or LeBron James?  Both of them were absolutely roasted for their struggles in the playoffs early in their careers.  I would say they turned out ok wouldnt you?  Dont think you or anyone else would have a problem calling them elite players.

 

[wavycrocket]

He surely isn't trash but also not the elite player he had been hyped during the regular season.
When it counted most he underperformed.
Would NBA legends like MJ, Bird, Magic, Kareem be what they are if they were having great seasons but could not deliver in the post season?
Great players normally go on turbo mode in the postseason to lead their team.

Have you forgot what NBA legend LeBron James did in the 2011 NBA finals? How about NBA legend Kobe Bryant in the midst of one of the best scoring seasons....refusing to shoot the ball quitting on his team in the playoffs. Or NBA legend Wilt Chaimberlain scoring average going down over 10 points in the finals? It happens man.

Curry is an elite player. The fact that dude can average 28ppg for a playoff run...average 26/6/5 in that finals and win an NBA championship....be 1 minute away from becoming a back to back champion...shows he's an elite level player.

Y'all are jumping off the cliff here. Hot take central

 

[HIM]

I asked for numbers and got nothing


I'm not even arguing either way. I would just like to know what numbers you guys are using to grade defense. I saw a few posts saying "the numbers back this up." Which numbers?

 

[Proposition Joe]

While I agree with you that Curry underperformed by a lot in the Finals this year, there are many examples of All Time Greats struggling early in their playoff careers only to turn it on later.  Since I assume you are young, I assume you are familiar with the careers of Kobe Bryant or LeBron James?  Both of them were absolutely roasted for their struggles in the playoffs early in their careers.  I would say they turned out ok wouldnt you?  Dont think you or anyone else would have a problem calling them elite players.

Curry is 27 and a two time MVP, bron and Kobe weren't there first go around in the finals

 

[wavycrocket]

I asked for numbers and got nothing


I'm not even arguing either way. I would just like to know what numbers you guys are using to grade defense. I saw a few posts saying "the numbers back this up." Which numbers?

How about numbers and video? Coach Nick took it to the extreme with "elite defense"...but these videos and numbers should give you a good picture.

 

[slick vitale]

 
While I agree with you that Curry underperformed by a lot in the Finals this year, there are many examples of All Time Greats struggling early in their playoff careers only to turn it on later.  Since I assume you are young, I assume you are familiar with the careers of Kobe Bryant or LeBron James?  Both of them were absolutely roasted for their struggles in the playoffs early in their careers.  I would say they turned out ok wouldnt you?  Dont think you or anyone else would have a problem calling them elite players.

Exactly.

Lebron had the BIGGEST statistical drop off from season/first 3 rounds of playoffs to finals EVER in 2011. 

Wins the next one (his first) and nobody remembers 2011 anymore. I guess that's the nature of sports in general. Alot of ppl have this what have you done for me lately approach with discussing athletes. 

Again...we already know what the Lebron Haters thread would look like right now if that last 1:20 of Game 7 had been the other way. It's the same thing on BOTH sides. Only someone with no dog in the fight can look at this objectively. I retired from my "irrational athlete hate" phase a while ago so I understand. 

I'll go as far to say I read some **** on here and start to cringe at the thought that I may have sounded like some of you years ago 

 

[Proposition Joe]

Curry was about to be another champion without another finals MVP


But curry is elite though, no one should deny that, he has to learn he can't shoot his way out of every bad mistake