Can Seth Curry Be Dominant For The New Orleans Pelicans?

Dominance is a word that isn’t messed around with when it comes to describing the play of an NBA-level talent.

It’s only accomplished by a handful of players in the league, veterans who’ve been around the game long enough to know its ups and downs and how to navigate through the toughest points in the season.

ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: The NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of All-Time

Even though it may not look like it, Seth Curry has been around the professional game for awhile now. Yes, he’s spent most of that time in the developmental leagues, but he’s had two successful summer stints these last two years. In fact, this past year he’s been arguably the best player in Las Vegas, putting up 24.3 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting from the field in six games for the New Orleans Pelicans.

More from New Orleans Pelicans

With rumors that Curry may be earning himself a spot on the team this upcoming season, we now have to look at just how much of an impact he could have playing big minutes in a rotation that looks primed to continue to see more action in the postseason.

Will he be the starter if he makes the Pelicans’ regular season roster? No, that job still belongs to Jrue Holiday, or Norris Cole should the team keep the restricted free agent. The proper question that needs to be asked is, if he is to carve out a solid backup role, can he be dominant in that role just as he’s been this summer?

In order to answer that question, it’s important to understand the kind of player he was billed to be coming out of college versus the kind of player he’s become. When he stepped into the professional ranks out of Duke, Curry was already known as an excellent spot-up shooter who could potentially be capable of putting up points in bunches off the bench for a good team.

Curry wasn’t looked at as a prospect who could be an NBA starter because of his lack of elite size and athleticism for the point guard position, as well as the defensive ability and handle necessary to man the lead guard spot.

As good as his shot was in college, Curry was never able to be a reliable shot creator off the dribble, so when he was forced to create for himself because of what the defense gave him, he would often take a terrible shot or turn the ball over because he didn’t have the handle to create enough space for himself to get a better look at the basket.

Those days have changed, as Curry has constantly gotten himself clean looks both in the midrange and at the rim.

In fact, Curry only took 36 three-point attempts during his six games in the Summer League. That’s still a healthy six attempts per game, but those weren’t the only shots he was looking to take, as he still attempted 111 shots altogether. Only connecting on 22.2 percent of his three-point attempts, Curry had to find other more efficient ways to put points on the board, and he did.

Curry shot the ball well from the free-throw line, and was able to connect on a number of pull-up looks from inside the arc, showcasing his expanded and more fearless game than he’s shown off in the past. It’s important that Curry has made these adjustments to his game because at his size, he can’t afford to be a one-dimensional offensive player since teams can easily key in on him and take away his spot-up looks if he can’t create anything by himself.

The fact that he’s been able to score both on and off the ball without having to rely on pinpoint passes to get him easy looks shows that he’s put in the work necessary to advance his professional career, but his work didn’t stop on the offensive end.

Defensively, Curry was a ballhawk while he was on the floor, averaging 3.6 steals per game while playing ferocious on-ball defense for the Pelicans.

He showed off his versatility on defense as well, guarding shooting guards at times. Curry held his own guarding bigger players, which is huge if he wants to earn minutes in an NBA rotation because of how often teams are able to draw up schemes to create mismatches and switches.

All of these developments led to Curry being dominant as a starter in the summer league, but can this kind of success really carry over once the regular season starts?

The improvements he made didn’t just make him a better player in the leagues below the NBA. What he’s done to his game has made him ready for what the NBA is going to throw at him. While he may not be a starter because of his lack of real playmaking ability for a point guard or his poor defense off of the ball, he could easily come in off the bench and shoot his team back into the game just by being himself and getting the looks he’s now comfortable going for.

He’s not just a three-point shooter anymore. Curry has shown he can score the basketball in a variety of ways, meaning that he can match on offense with just about any other guard the Pelicans want to put him with off the bench. This gives them versatility in how they want to carve out their second unit, and that’s really all a team can ask for at the end of the day. Specialists can thrive in the NBA, but the more moving parts you have to work with, the more prepared you can be as a team against other squads that have that luxury.

At the end of the day, you are the position you can guard in the NBA. Since Curry has proven he can guard twos in a pinch, he can play either guard spot off the bench for roughly 20 minutes a night. If that’s all New Orleans is going to ask of him, then he could be a real find for a team looking for more reliable back-up play at the guard spots.

You can never have enough shooting, and Curry can bring it in bunches. As long as he continues to build off of the improvements he’s already made, he can be a dominant force off the bench for the Pelicans.

Look out Steph, your little brother is coming for you.

Next: Will Pelicans Regret Asik Deal?

More from Hoops Habit