Even though there are plenty of games left to be played in the first round of the 2015 NBA playoffs, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is the MVP at this stage, if there was such an award.
Curry averaged 33.8 points in the four games (all wins) against the New Orleans Pelicans. No shot was bigger or more impactful than his corner 3-pointer in game 3 that sent the game into overtime after the Warriors managed to come back from 20 points down. We’ve had and we’ll have other buzzer beaters in this postseason, but it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to suggest that this was and will be the most impressive one.
Curry is seventh in PER in the postseason and it feels that he’s finally unleashed. No more minute restrictions (39.8 minutes a night), shooting 41.7% from beyond the arc. His usage is up which also means his a little bit less accurate from the field (down from 48.7% to 45.3%) but besides Anthony Davis, he has the highest ‘Value Added’ number in the playoffs according to the Hollinger player rankings.
His dominance isn’t the only thing that’s impressive. He has three games of 34 points or more in the postseason so far and in the last couple of games didn’t just score but also dish out nine assists twice while attacking the rim a lot more, getting to the line 26 times (making 24 of his shots). Curry is hitting shots from everywhere on the floor, and focusing just on him opens teams (or at least the Pelicans) up to easy baskets for Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, among others.
Are the Warriors perfect? Nope. The most complete team in the playoffs? Probably, at least from a body of work that started back in late October and has been almost impossible to beat or figure out for too long. Curry is the vanguard in this story, and right now, no one in the league would be doing it any better.