Would you choose Lillard over Curry?

[Granath]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Yes, he is. Is there any real debate over this?

[fairweatherfan]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Look at the support Curry has in Golden state. Look at their bench. And Kerr is one of the top 5 coaches in the league

Yes, the league MVP is better than the second teamer at the same position.

[Who]

Steph Curry and Westbrook are my #1 and #2 in the MVP race.

Probably Paul George as #3.

[max215]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Look at the support Curry has in Golden state. Look at their bench. And Kerr is one of the top 5 coaches in the league

Pick any current player. Curry is better than him.

[Tr1boy]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Look at the support Curry has in Golden state. Look at their bench. And Kerr is one of the top 5 coaches in the league

Pick any current player. Curry is better than him.

not over Lebron James.  Leonard. Chris Paul imo

[max215]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Look at the support Curry has in Golden state. Look at their bench. And Kerr is one of the top 5 coaches in the league

Pick any current player. Curry is better than him.

not over Lebron James.  Leonard. Chris Paul imo

LeBron can't shoot outside the restricted area anymore and Chris Paul can't do half of what Curry does on offense. Kawhi is a transcendent defensive player, but he can't carry an offense the way Curry does. I think it's fairly conclusive, judging by whatever metrics you please (traditional boxscore numbers, advanced metrics, team performance, eye test, etc.), that Curry is the best player in the NBA.

[Tr1boy]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Look at the support Curry has in Golden state. Look at their bench. And Kerr is one of the top 5 coaches in the league

Pick any current player. Curry is better than him.

not over Lebron James.  Leonard. Chris Paul imo

LeBron can't shoot outside the restricted area anymore and Chris Paul can't do half of what Curry does on offense. Kawhi is a transcendent defensive player, but he can't carry an offense the way Curry does. I think it's fairly conclusive, judging by whatever metrics you please (traditional boxscore numbers, advanced metrics, team performance, eye test, etc.), that Curry is the best player in the NBA.

chris paul can't do half the things Curry can do?  Also applies the other way around

paul is a better defender as a start. all defensive 1st  team 5 times. And all defensive 2nd team 2 times. How many times has Curry made this list?

with 5 seconds left I would pick Paul to handle/take the shot over curry

Paul is a better 1 on 1 player

[Ilikesports17]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Look at the support Curry has in Golden state. Look at their bench. And Kerr is one of the top 5 coaches in the league

Pick any current player. Curry is better than him.

not over Lebron James.  Leonard. Chris Paul imo

So you admit he's better than lillard?

Because if you'd made the thread about any of the above 3 that would have been at least worthy of discussion.

Also is Luke Walton a top 5 coach too?

[Snakehead]

LeBron can't shoot outside the restricted area anymore

Good thing he is maybe the best driver the league has ever seen.  He is still very dominant, even if his three point shooting is down.  You're being ridiculous with this.  As are many that are jumping at the chance to say LeBron is done when everything says otherwise.

[max215]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Look at the support Curry has in Golden state. Look at their bench. And Kerr is one of the top 5 coaches in the league

Pick any current player. Curry is better than him.

not over Lebron James.  Leonard. Chris Paul imo

LeBron can't shoot outside the restricted area anymore and Chris Paul can't do half of what Curry does on offense. Kawhi is a transcendent defensive player, but he can't carry an offense the way Curry does. I think it's fairly conclusive, judging by whatever metrics you please (traditional boxscore numbers, advanced metrics, team performance, eye test, etc.), that Curry is the best player in the NBA.

chris paul can't do half the things Curry can do?  Also applies the other way around

paul is a better defender as a start. all defensive 1st  team 5 times. And all defensive 2nd team 2 times. How many times has Curry made this list?

with 5 seconds left I would pick Paul to handle/take the shot over curry

Paul is a better 1 on 1 player

It doesn't apply the other way around. I already conceded that Paul is the better defender. The other stuff is your opinion and not backed up by any evidence.

[max215]

LeBron can't shoot outside the restricted area anymore

Good thing he is maybe the best driver the league has ever seen.  He is still very dominant, even if his three point shooting is down.  You're being ridiculous with this.  As are many that are jumping at the chance to say LeBron is done when everything says otherwise.

When did I say LeBron isn't dominant? He is still dominant, because, as you said, he can get to the rim at will and is an ELITE finisher. However, I stand by the assertion that Curry is better.

Edit: Also, it's not just that he can't shoot threes anymore. His percentages are atrocious everywhere outside of 3 feet (again, inside 3 feet, his numbers are unbelievable).

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamesle01/shooting/2016/

[indeedproceed]

LeBron can't shoot outside the restricted area anymore

Good thing he is maybe the best driver the league has ever seen.  He is still very dominant, even if his three point shooting is down.  You're being ridiculous with this.  As are many that are jumping at the chance to say LeBron is done when everything says otherwise.

LeBron James's shot chart:



red means bad.

[LarBrd33]

Lillard vs Curry seems a little silly considering Curry's epic season.  Curry's having the best single season since Jordan.   

But in defense of the premise, Curry is definitely helped a bit by being surrounded with incredible talent. 

He's better than Lillard, but Lillard deserves a ton of credit right now.  Heading into this season, it seemed Portland would be one of the worst teams in the league.  They tore apart a playoff team and dropped 6 of their top 7 guys.   Some thought Lillard might have been helped a bit by playing with LaMarcus Aldridge and that Lillard would struggle as the main option.  Surely, his efficiency would take a hit without the help of Wes Matthews, Aldridge, Batum, Robin Lopez and Afflalo.

Nope.  Averaging 25.1 points, 7.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals with 43%/37%/86% shooting.   Roughly the same shooting percentages as always.   He and CJ MCCollum have actually formed a poor man's Splash Brothers.  McCollum is averaging 21 points with impressive 45%/41%/80% shooting.  Woah. 

They have the 7th seed right now.  Just crushed Golden State.  They have won 11 of their last 12 games.   Lillard is averaging 30.1 points, 8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals with 46%/38%/87% shooting this month.   He seems to have reacted aggressively to the all-star snub.    Lillard deserves a ton of credit right now.  FWIW, his stats are similar to Curry's a couple seasons ago when Curry was the same age.   That's not to say Lillard is going to make that type of leap, but he's earned my respect this season. 

[guava_wrench]

So Curry is now easily better than Westbrook?

Look at the support Curry has in Golden state. Look at their bench. And Kerr is one of the top 5 coaches in the league

So Duncan wasn't an all-time PF because he had Pop? And Durant and Ibaka are garbage?

Using teammate arguments is a cop out. Have you watched Curry play? Have you seen what he can do? It is insane. I don't care who your coach and teammates are when you can efficiently launch shots from 26 feet. Curry showed early in his career with Ellis that he could pass well enough to be a 10 apg guy if he wanted to. It isn't just raw numbers that impress people with Curry. It is his skill set.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Lillard and Curry are both decent defenders.   But I would have to give the edge to Lillard. Just longer and more explosive

There is literally no stat that indicates Lillard is good at defense, other than 6'3'' (as if that counts). Length does not equal effectiveness. DRPM, DRTG, Opponents field goal percentage, steals per game, etc. All point out the fact that Lillard is probably the worst defensive point guard in the NBA, bar none.

I don't think you understand what bar none means, because that statement is categorically untrue. I don't want to look at all the stats, but you just pick one, say DRTG (cuz its easy to find), Lillard rates as better than Rondo, Mudiay, Jarret Jack, Brandon Knight, Michael Carter-Williams...

That's (the bolded part above) not even close to true. Lillard is no defense force or anything, but he is not the worst starting point guard in the NBA on the defensive side, and he's not even close to it. He's much closer to average than he is to the worst.

It's not about one stat. It's about all the stats together. All of them are in the bottom of the NBA for a player of his stature. Maybe I should say "worst starting point guard " or "worst significant player point guard" instead of worst in the NBA. Michael Carter-Williams, Knight, and Rondo test out better in other defensive areas. If you have to prove that Lillard isn't that bad by comparing him to a rookie and Jarrett Jack, then I think you are reaching to try to prove that Lillard is "average." He's not. In every defensive stat, he is one of the worst, and from what I see, no other player is one of the worst in every stat.