Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry for MVP

Shotchart_1413002533814 /

Seriously. Anyone with a shot chart like that needs to be in the conversation. Perhaps he needs to lead it.

The Golden State Warriors have turned the tides in recent years behind their superstar point guard, Stephen Curry, and with their healthiest team in recent years, Curry is primed to be an official MVP candidate.

More from Golden State Warriors

His importance to the Warriors is undeniable, his statistical leadership in the league is incapable of being ignored. There aren’t many comparable to Curry at the point guard position, and definitely no other guards with parallel scoring capability.

Curry’s fifth and best season with the Warriors resulted in an average of 24 points per game. Although most of Curry’s buckets on the year came from former Warriors coach Mark Jackson‘s isolation offense, there’s tremendous room for growth if he sticks to what new Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will have in store.

The Warriors were at the bottom of the NBA in average number of touches per game last season, and while Kerr will seek to reverse that strategy in the upcoming season, it’s Curry that will benefit the most. In simple strategy, the more the ball moves, the less time for the defense to relax, and the more opportunity for defenses to be exploited.

For Curry it means starting his sixth season as a threat on and off the ball, and the difference in what Curry will produce on the court lies in the dichotomy between Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr’s individual games as players. Mark Jackson was one of the best isolation and back to the basket point guards in history, while Kerr was not exactly one of the greatest, but definitely most efficient players off the ball. As such, Kerr will expand Curry’s game to scoring off the ball.

Although 42.9 percent of Curry’s field goals last year were assisted, there’s room to get that percentage up to 50 percent, and it can happen in an offense with more motion. This 43 percent statistic is likely due to isolation plays for wing mates Klay Thompson or Andre Igoudala where there’s a drive and kick, or from an offensive rebound and pass to Curry for an open 3.

What Kerr envisions is Curry flaring off the pick for an open shot, curling off away screens in addition to ball screens. Each of which situation Curry can thrive.

An MVP trophy for Curry depends on the Warriors as a team.

The Golden State Warriors need health to succeed in every way possible, and it’s of utmost importance for Stephen Curry if he’s to win the MVP award. Curry’s by far the league’s best shooter, but far from being the league’s best player. He’s not even the NBA’s best on the offensive end. Even MVPs can’t do it alone, and Stephen Curry is no exception.

He’ll need his team to propel him to a most valuable level, backups and role players in starting positions don’t command the same amount of attention as would the starters, with poor health defenses have greater ability to focus their sights solely on stopping Curry.

The only season where Curry played less than 74 games was 2011-12. That year he only appeared in only 26 contests due to injury. Andrew Bogut, David Lee and all of the other Warriors that are on a first-name basis with the injury bug need to be in the lineup for no less than 70 games.

There are a few uncontrollable factors that will be needed for Curry to hoist the MVP trophy. First, voters have to still be tired of LeBron James, Blake Griffin‘s improvement can’t be enough to turn heads and Curry must score more or a similar amount of points as Kevin Durant. In 2,846 minutes played last season, Curry ranked sixth in scoring (1873 points) and first in 3 balls (261). With a revamped offense that challenges defenses and provides more open looks for Curry, he should be able to improve on his play tremendously.

MVPs play the total game.

Kevin Durant was very deserving of the MVP trophy last year; however, one major reason for him being selected was due to voters being sick and tired of seeing the trophy go home with LeBron James. At some point most were thinking of changing the name of the trophy to the LeBron James award, because in the NBA’s modern era he truly set the standard by which MVPs should be judged.

And that is where Curry edges Durant. The all around game. Last season Curry ranked fifth in offensive win shares, fifth in assists per game 8.5, averaged 1.6 steals per game and ranked fourth in overall win shares (13.4). He’s got the total game, and while Durant’s contributions with the Thunder are at his ceiling, Curry’s next step is yet to be seen. There’s another level of which he’ll raise his game to, and it’s dependent on how well he gravitates to Kerr’s philosophy.

Should Curry learn how to be an explosive player in the league on and off the ball, he’ll be in serious contention for the MVP award. Should he regress to the same style of play that had them thwarted out of the first round of last year’s playoffs, the Warriors might suffer a similar fate, while Curry remains in the top-10 conversation and left out of the best overall discussion.

Home/Golden State Warriors