Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Milwaukee’s George Hill rank first and second among over/under guards, respectively.
Stephen Curry – the undisputed greatest shooter in NBA history – just posted the lowest field goal percentage (38.5%) and 3-point percentage (32.9%) on a calendar month of his career. There have been 63 calendar months in which Curry has appeared in at least five games, these are the lowest percentages he has posted in those months.
Still, despite being mired in a long shooting slump, the Warriors went 11-4 in games Curry played in January and outscored opponents by an average of 6.0 points per game with Curry on the court. . Seeing this disconnect between Curry’s low shooting percentages and Golden State’s team success brought me back to this clip of Warriors coach Steve Kerr talking with Curry on the bench in 2017 while on the mic. for the game.
Those words of encouragement from Kerr came during one of Curry’s few other shooting fits. Coming into that game against the Knicks on March 5, 2017, Curry had shot just 37.1 percent (26-70) from the field and 12.9 percent (4-31) from 3-point range over his three previous matches, including a 0-11. shooting performance from beyond the arc (one of only two times in his career Curry has attempted a double-digit 3 without a mark).
The first quarter of this Knicks game was more or less the same as Curry missed all four of his 3-pointers, made just two shots and two free throws for six points. However, the Warriors were a plus-11 while on the court, thanks in part to the shooting of fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson, who was down 14 points on 3-5 FG, 2-2 3FG and 6-6 FT during this period. same quarter. This is where Kerr’s lyrics speak volumes.
Simply because Curry’s shots don’t fall, his presence on the field and the way he forces defenses to lean towards him is key to the Warriors’ offensive success. It doesn’t matter if Curry has missed 10 straight 3-pointers, defenders should always respect his shot and know that the next one is likely to fall. Along with the attention Curry constantly commands on the perimeter, this clears the way for the rest of his teammates.
In games played on Sunday, Jan. 30, Curry leads all players in plus/minus average, as the Warriors average opponents 9.8 points per game with Curry in the field (plus-449 in 1,596 minutes played). over 46 games). Here’s a closer look at the top 10 over/under guards so far this season, with a minimum of 25 games played.
Full stats and standings for matches played on January 30.
George Hill: Hill is one of two players on this list to mostly come off the bench. He averages the fewest points (7.0 ppg) and fewest minutes (25.5 mpg) of any player in this top 10, but has the second-best defensive efficiency of any guard in the league. Opponents are scoring just 98.2 points per 100 possessions while Hill is on the court for the Bucks.
Darius Garland: From Jan. 30-20 to 30, the Cavs have already surpassed their win total from last season (22-50) and Garland’s breakout season played a major role in that turnaround. The Cavs have a team-best plus-7.2 with Garland on the court and a team-worst minus-1.7 when he’s off the court.
Mike Conley: Conley led all players in plus/minus last season (plus-10.7) as he earned his first All-Star selection. He ranks fourth so far this season and joins Curry as the only players on this list to rank in the top 10 guards in offensive and defensive efficiency.
| PLAYER | TEAM | +/- | OUTSIDE RTG | DEF RTG | RTG NET |
| Stephen Curry | GSW | 9.8 | 113.8 (10) | 100.4 (3) | 13.4 (2) |
| George Hill | MIL | 7.7 | 112.4 (24) | 98.2 (1) | 14.2 (1) |
| Darius Garland | KEY | 7.2 | 111.8 (28) | 102.7 (6) | 9.1 (6) |
| Mike Conley | UTA | 7.0 | 115.1 (5) | 103.9 (10) | 11.2 (3) |
| Chris Paul | PHX | 6.6 | 115.1 (6) | 105.6 (17) | 9.5 (4) |
| Holiday Jrue | MIL | 6.2 | 115.7 (3) | 107.2 (29) | 8.6 (8) |
| Devin Booker | PHX | 5.6 | 114.5 (8) | 106.6 (23) | 7.9 (11) |
| Donovan Mitchell | UTA | 5.5 | 118.3 (1) | 110.4 (62) | 7.9 (12) |
| Ricky Rubio | KEY | 5.4 | 108.6 (60) | 99.5 (2) | 9.1 (7) |
| Mount Morris | LAIR | 5.2 | 115.5 (4) | 107.4 (31) | 8.1 (9) |
Chris Paul: Paul’s plus-6.6 plus/minus is his highest mark in four seasons, since posting a plus-8.6 in his first season with Houston in 2017-18. Paul hasn’t posted a more/less negative since his second season in the league (2006-07 with the New Orleans/OKC Hornets). Towns and teammates have changed over Paul’s career, but his impact hasn’t.
Jrue Holiday: Holiday joined the Bucks last season to form a great trio with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton that helped the Bucks win their first NBA title in 50 years. Holiday’s production in his second season in Milwaukee — 17.8 ppg, 6.6 apg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 spg, 1.8 3pg, 32.6 mpg — is nearly identical to his first: + 0.1 ppg, +0.5 apg, +0.2 rpg, -0.1 spg, -0.1 3pg, +0.3 mpg. The same goes for his plus/minus: plus-6.4 in 2020-21 and plus-6.2 this season.
Devin Booker: Booker is averaging a career-best plus-5.6 in his 42 games played for the league-leading Suns (40-9). Booker ranks eighth among guards in offensive efficiency (114.5) and 23rd in defensive efficiency with a career-best rating of 106.6. Booker is up 24 places in defensive efficiency from last season (47and111.4) to this season, while maintaining a top-10 ranking on the attacking side of the ball.
Donovan Mitchell: Mitchell leads all guards in offensive efficiency as the Jazz score 118.3 points per 100 possessions while on the court. With Mitchell healthy, the Jazz posted a league-leading 116.1 offensive rating through Jan. 17 and were 29-15 this season. Since Mitchell was out with a concussion, the Jazz have only gone 1-6 and their offensive rating has dropped to 20.and at 109.9. Utah has also been without Rudy Gobert for the last four of those games.
Ricky Rubio: Rubio’s first season with the Cavs came to an abrupt end on Dec. 28 when he suffered a torn ACL one night where he finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks in 37 minutes. Rubio not only led the Cavs, he ranked second among all guards in defensive efficiency (99.5), helping the Cavs become a top-five defense (second at 103.4 through Dec. 28). ).
Mount Morris: Morris ranks fourth on the Nuggets in minutes (30 per game) and points (12.6 per game), but second behind Nikola Jokic (plus-7.6) in plus/minus at plus-5.2 per game. An argument against over/under is that it is both a team and an individual stat. The success (or lack of success) of the players around you can affect the plus/minus of a player even if they play well (or poorly). But a key aspect of the game is finding players who work well together and maximizing the lineups that are on the pitch. Looking at all the two-man rosters this season, the duo of Jokic and Morris have the best plus-minus in the league as the Nuggets edged their opponents by 312 points in the 1,139 minutes these two shared on field.
