Ainge: Curry the greatest shooter over Bird

[Tr1boy]

What? Come on Danny

Bird is one of the greatest 3 pt shooting clutch players of all time.  Curry is obviously a great shooter but how many playoff clutch shots has he made? Adv Bird as of now

[hwangjini_1]

What? Come on Danny

Bird is one of the greatest 3 pt shooting clutch players of all time.  Curry is obviously a great shooter but how many playoff clutch shots has he made? Adv Bird as of now

any chance of a link for the source of this rant? 

[GC003332]

What? Come on Danny

Bird is one of the greatest 3 pt shooting clutch players of all time.  Curry is obviously a great shooter but how many playoff clutch shots has he made? Adv Bird as of now

any chance of a link for the source of this rant? 

http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/danny-ainge-why-steph-curry-greatest-shooter-over-larry-bird

[fairweatherfan]

Curry's a better shooter than Bird, almost certainly the greatest shooter of all time (yes, already). 

We can quibble about how things might be different if Bird grew up in the 3-pt era or played in a different offensive system, but there's no realistic argument to be made based on what they actually did on the court.

[saltlover]

What? Come on Danny

Bird is one of the greatest 3 pt shooting clutch players of all time.  Curry is obviously a great shooter but how many playoff clutch shots has he made? Adv Bird as of now

Given that Ainge was a) Bird's teammate, and b) shot 40% from 3 himself in the playoffs for his career, I'm going to go with Ainge over you on this one.

[saltlover]

Another way look at it is that Curry made more 3-pointers in the playoffs last season than Bird made in the playoffs for his career.  And he did it more efficiently, shooting 42.2% -- Bird's best playoff performance was 41.1%, and for his playoff career he was 32.1%.  I mean, different era to be sure, and Ainge talks about more than just threes, but quite simply, Curry has the stats to back it up.  Again, Curry made 92 playoff 3's last year.  Bird made 80 in his career.  There's no justification for calling Bird better at anything related to 3-pointers than Curry.  No one shoots with that much volume at that efficiency.

[hpantazo]

Ainge is still GM on the celtics and may want to acquire Curry one day, so its a smart statement imo. Also, other players hearing Ainge praise current NBA players over his former teammates will take it as a good sign as well. Ainge is always looking ahead, and looking at whats in it for him. Bird is currently running the Pacers, thus his enemy 

[tarheelsxxiii]

Another way look at it is that Curry made more 3-pointers in the playoffs last season than Bird made in the playoffs for his career.  And he did it more efficiently, shooting 42.2% -- Bird's best playoff performance was 41.1%, and for his playoff career he was 32.1%.  I mean, different era to be sure, and Ainge talks about more than just threes, but quite simply, Curry has the stats to back it up.  Again, Curry made 92 playoff 3's last year.  Bird made 80 in his career.  There's no justification for calling Bird better at anything related to 3-pointers than Curry.  No one shoots with that much volume at that efficiency.

Yep. He owns the two best 3-point shooting regular seasons in the history of the NBA, as well. Premature as it may seem, he is already the best 3-point shooter of all time.

foulweatherfan makes a good point - historically, others could've benefited from playing in the 3 point era. But over and above volume, he's done it more efficiently than any one else, and he's doing it in ways we haven't seen (i.e., unprecedented pull-ups, in fractions of a second, from way deep).

[D.o.s.]

How do you spell validated?

I remember a lot of people getting their negligees all twisted when this was suggested a few months ago.

[Boris Badenov]

Bird's my favorite player ever and I don't see this as something worth debating, if the question is who is more likely to make a variety of shots from different areas of the floor. Curry is better.

Now, I also don't see this a particularly troubling because:

1. If there are 5 seconds left and you need a guy to get open and hit a game-winner, I'd still take Bird any day.

2. Bird was far better than Curry at everything else, with the exception of ball-handling.

[littleteapot]

You guys have Ray Allen as a better shooter than Bird, right?

[Boris Badenov]

You guys have Ray Allen as a better shooter than Bird, right?

Yes, as a standstill shooter, although if you read the article Danny was really talking about creating a shot with guys on you, then hitting it. I'd give Bird the edge there particularly if you're talking about ability from different spots on the floor.

[crimson_stallion]

You guys have Ray Allen as a better shooter than Bird, right?

Yes, as a standstill shooter, although if you read the article Danny was really talking about creating a shot with guys on you, then hitting it. I'd give Bird the edge there particularly if you're talking about ability from different spots on the floor.

I don't know man...Ray Allen was pretty impressive at shooting on the move and off the dribble. 

Remember he came to Boston as he had just reached the apex of his career, but he was a third option for the first couple of years and then started to decline from age after that.

If you watch Ray back in the Bucks / Sonics days, he was an animal.  He was way, way more than just a catch-and-shoot guy.  He was an all-out scorer. 

IMHO Ray Allen in his prime was a better shooter, scorer and athlete than Curry is now. 

[Tr1boy]

Bird's my favorite player ever and I don't see this as something worth debating, if the question is who is more likely to make a variety of shots from different areas of the floor. Curry is better.

Now, I also don't see this a particularly troubling because:

1. If there are 5 seconds left and you need a guy to get open and hit a game-winner, I'd still take Bird any day.

2. Bird was far better than Curry at everything else, with the exception of ball-handling.

+1

Bird or Horry with 5 sec left  and your team needs a three

[crimson_stallion]

Yep. He owns the two best 3-point shooting regular seasons in the history of the NBA, as well. Premature as it may seem, he is already the best 3-point shooter of all time.

Now that is just untrue...it's like saying Anthony Davis is already the best PF of all time. 

No.