Warriors mailbag: Is Steph Curry really atop the MVP race as Magic Johnson says?
Earlier this month, Draymond Green expressed his indifference about the play-in tournament, saying that “fighting for a play-in spot doesn’t motivate me” at this stage of his career.
Two nights later, Stephen Curry erupted in Atlanta for 37 points. A couple of nights after that, Curry hung 41 in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Since Green’s comments, the Warriors have won five of their last eight games, are two games back of the No. 8 seed and appear destined for a play-in spot. Meanwhile, Curry in the month of April is averaging 39.9 points on 55.6% shooting, including 49.2% from 3-point range.
Curry’s sprained ankle aside, over the final month of the regular season Golden State will be one of the top teams to watch and Curry — the two-time MVP currently pushing Washington’s Bradley Beal for the scoring title — is the kind of player young teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies want to avoid in a play-in tournament. As forward Juan Toscano-Anderson said last week: “Whenever you got No. 30 on your team you’re a contender… I don’t think any team is looking at the playoff standings and saying ‘we want Golden State.'”
Starting with Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Warriors’ final 15 games hold a lot of intrigue. So let’s kick off the week with a mailbag. As always, thanks to everyone who contributed. Questions for future mailbags can be sent on Twitter (@wcgoldberg) or by email (wgoldberg@bayareanewsgroup.com).
It’s hard to deny Steph Curry from being the NBA’s MVP! He is the #1, #2, and #3 option for the Warriors and is STILL dominating!! — Earvin Magic Johnson
Alright, I cheated. Magic didn’t write this to me but it’s a great place to start. With LeBron James and James Harden missing substantial time with injuries, many believe the MVP chase is open to other candidates. But at this point, it’s Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic’s award to lose. A recent poll by ESPN had Jokic running away with the award and NBA.com’s weekly check-in had Jokic in the top spot for the fifth week in a row. That same check-in did not agree with Magic and had Curry in ninth of 10 candidates. In ESPN’s poll, Curry garnered the 12th-most votes. Curry’s numbers are undeniable, and so is the fact that he’s carried the Warriors into play-in position, but Golden State simply isn’t good enough to justify Curry winning the MVP.
Before you start, I hear your arguments: Curry shouldn’t be penalized for his supporting cast or Golden State’s losing record. If anything, it helps to bolster his case.
I know, I know. But look at the history of MVP winners and players in Curry’s position just don’t win it. Plus, Jokic deserves it as much as anyone: He has been incredible all season long (averaging 26.1 points on 56.7% shooting, 11 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game) and the Nuggets are fourth in the West. Joel Embiid also missed time but should still be in the running based on the fact that (a) he’s unstoppable and (b) his 76ers are the top seed in the East.
If we’re talking awards, Curry is much more likely to earn the scoring title than the MVP. After his scoring surge, Curry is averaging 31.0 points per game, a hair behind Beal’s 31.1 average. This is going to be close — potentially closer than the MVP race.
The interesting thing is, Curry may have already wrapped up the scoring title had the NBA used the original framework of awarding the player with the most total points. In 1970, the rule was changed to award the player with the highest points-per-game average. With 1,521 points, Curry is ahead of Portland’s Damian Lillard (1,492) and Beal (1,462) in points scored this season.
Why has the DPE not been utilized with the team thin in the middle and James Wiseman out for the season? — @Nickaiah.
There wasn’t an urgent need to trade for a center before last month’s trade deadline and now there is not a free agent big man worth the full $9.3 million disabled player exception granted for Klay Thompson’s season-ending injury. That exception, by the way, will expire today.
After the DPE expires, Golden State will still have a portion of the taxpayer mid-level exception available (worth about $2 million) and can freely sign a 15th player to a 10-day deal or veteran minimum contract. I’d expect the remainder of the MLE to be used to sign forward Juan Toscano-Anderson to a guaranteed contract at some point, which means the Warriors will be limited to signing a free agent center to a smaller deal. Again, if there were an available center who demanded a higher price tag, that could be a problem, but there isn’t.
The Warriors are scanning the market and may add a player soon. Potential targets include Tyler Zeller, Omari Spellman, Noah Vonleh, Ian Mahinmi and Skal Labissiere.
Unpopular opinion: I think we should not trade for Beal (6-foot-3), giving up too much size at the 2, defensive liability. Our backcourt would be really small. Maybe trade for a stretch 5 or a 4 that can shoot and play the 5. So the closing lineup would be Steph-Klay-Dray-Wiggins-(4/5 able to defend and switch on 1/2) more versatile overall. Just a thought. — @KevzL12
Look, it’s a nice thought, but the Warriors aren’t exactly in a position to be picky — no team is. Sure, a center who can shoot and switch onto opposing guards would be wonderful. But who is that? Karl Anthony-Towns can score but is a defensive liability at this point. Myles Turner is solid, but doesn’t rise to superstar status. Good luck prying away Embiid or Bam Adebayo.
It’s simple: If a player of Beal’s caliber becomes available, the Warriors must go after him. Sure, a perimeter rotation of Curry, Beal and Klay Thompson would be giving up size, but who cares? The Brooklyn Nets are giving up a ton of size and they’re a bona fide title contender. If acquiring Beal is a possibility, the Warriors should do it and worry about the size issue later when they’re scoring 120 points per game.