Curry was NOT better than KD in the 2018 finals

[StrongLurk]

I see a few posters trying to squeeze that in and say something like "well Curry was better in 3/4 games".

All the games count. KD HAS CURRY BEAT ACROSS THE BOARD IN 2018.

KD 2018 finals: 29/11/8 with 3.1 stocks, 2.3 turnovers on 65.4 TS%, 26.9 gamescore (absurd statline)

Curry 2018 finals: 27.5/6/7 with 2.3 stocks, 2.8 turnovers on 56 TS%. 20.1 gamescore.

[Akhenaten]

I see a few posters trying to squeeze that in and say something like "well Curry was better in 3/4 games".

All the games count. KD HAS CURRY BEAT ACROSS THE BOARD IN 2018.

KD 2018 finals: 29/11/8 with 3.1 stocks, 2.3 turnovers on 65.4 TS%, 26.9 gamescore (absurd statline)

Curry 2018 finals: 27.5/6/7 with 2.3 stocks, 2.8 turnovers on 56 TS%. 20.1 gamescore.

Those statlines are barely distinguishable and all the games don't count, you play to win, what you do in a win matters infinitely more than a loss.

For me PERSONALLY, the fact that their is a great separation in stats, the defenses were loading up on Steph plus him having the better games in the wins gives him the edge.

That said, I have no real objection to KD winning. I'd do some co-mvp ish if was up to me.

[tpols]

Curry was being hard doubled in every Cleveland matchup while KD was left either wide open or in single coverage.

It's an easy analysis. We have the tape bro. Furthermore the warriors always looked 10x better with Curry and no Durant compared to Durant and no Curry.

These are certfiable facts backed up by RAPM and +/- data. Durant was like a high powered gun on the offensive tank engine that was Steph Curry.

Chef was "The One" who fostered a GOAT level brand of ball due to his off ball play style and how scared defenses were having to throw the kitchen sink at him on defense to try and allow his teammates to beat them and prevent an avalanche.

[SouBeachTalents]

You can't rely solely on stats, otherwise Tatum would've been the clear FMVP this year.

That series is tough because like tpols alluded to, Curry was receiving the bulk of Cleveland's attention and did outproduce KD in 3 of the games, but on the flipside, Curry scored an astonishing amount of his points with the Warriors up double digits, and KD did singlehandedly win Game 3 when Curry was atrocious.

The stats for sure favor KD, but with context, you could make a solid argument for Curry.

[tpols]

Ì actually feel like one of the reasons Curry was so dominant in the 2022 Finals was because they had DPOY Marcus Smart on him and he had too much pride to allow hard traps and doubles like what Cleveland was doing.

It's easier to beat a DPOY in single coverage than 2 or 3 average defenders swarming you @ half court.

[StrongLurk]

Those statlines are barely distinguishable and all the games don't count, you play to win, what you do in a win matters infinitely more than a loss.

For me PERSONALLY, the fact that their is a great separation in stats, the defenses were loading up on Steph plus him having the better games in the wins gives him the edge.

That said, I have no real objection to KD winning. I'd do some co-mvp ish if was up to me.

Barely distinguishable? KD literally beats Steph in every stat there :roll:

More points/reb/ass/stocks, less turnovers, higher efficiency.

[dankok8]

Curry is easily the more impactful player over KD.

Here is the complete data for the 2017-2019 Warriors so this is a large sample.

Curry ON Durant ON: +15.89 Net Rtg
Curry ON Durant OFF: +12.44 Net Rtg
Curry OFF Durant ON: +2.40 Net Rtg
Curry OFF Durant OFF: -3.79 Net Rtg

Source: PBP Stats
https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2018-19,2017-18,2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201142,201939

[1987_Lakers]

I believe Curry will be viewed as the greater player of the two as time goes on, but I would not give him FMVP over Durant in 2017 & 2018. KD was simply dominant in those Finals.

The funny thing is, if you re-watch game 4 of the '18 Finals, KD is trying to feed Curry and find a way to give him the FMVP, but Curry just kept missing and missing.

[StrongLurk]

Curry is easily the more impactful player over KD.

Here is the complete data for the 2017-2019 Warriors so this is a large sample.

Curry ON Durant ON: +15.89 Net Rtg
Curry ON Durant OFF: +12.44 Net Rtg
Curry OFF Durant ON: +2.40 Net Rtg
Curry OFF Durant OFF: -3.79 Net Rtg

Source: PBP Stats
https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2018-19,2017-18,2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201142,201939

Is that the 2018 finals?

[dankok8]

Is that the 2018 finals?

No. I posted that in response to other posts.

In the 2018 Finals the aggregate box score hides the fact that Curry was better than KD in 3/4 games.

[Wardell Curry]

Yeah he was. Watch the games.

[Stephonit]

It depends on what you need. In the NBA format where it is a best-of-7 winner-take-all, Curry variable explosiveness has been shown to be more conducive to winning than KD's consistency.

That said debates surrounding Curry and KD on the Warriors try to gloss over how they worked as a team. If those presenting the awards showed proper respect to what they both are, the FMVPs even if worthless as evaluations of merit could still have been used to signal just how great the two are as peers and teammates by splitting them. Instead though the presenters preferred to instigate and fan controversy by giving one of them the award for two years. It shows how cheap those awards are really as just incitements to drama.