Steph Curry's Showing Why He's Miles Ahead of Harden, Young
Over the offseason, the NBA decided that they would be changing the way that contact initiated by offensive players was called by the referees in an attempt to get rid of foul-baiting. So far, it’s worked relatively well: Defensive shooting fouls are being called less and some of the best offensive players who lived at the line last year have begun to fall back down to earth.
Steph Curry, while he’s in a bit of a slump currently, is the one superstar that hasn’t seemed to be affected by the rule change much at all. Although pundits would try to make him the poster boy for foul-baiting, he’s adjusted well and is currently tied for number 1 in points per game with Grizzlies star Ja Morant at 28.7 PPG. This shouldn’t come as a shock to those who actually watch basketball, as it’s obvious Curry’s otherworldy offensive talents transcend the free throw line (where he’s the all-time leader in shooting percentage). Other stars, however, are having a bit of a difficult time.
It’s been noticeable how much James Harden has been hurting from the foul rule. Clips all over the internet have shown him trying to get up to his old tricks, usually hooking a defender’s arm or swiping upwards with the ball in his hands into the defender to try and draw cheap fouls. Harden’s best game this season was against the Pacers, where he put up 29/8/8 and took 19 free throws. In the first five games of the season, he shot 15 total free throws and was averaging 16.6/8/7. The Brooklyn Nets are 3-3 this season despite Kevin Durant putting up some gaudy numbers himself, and it’s mostly because while Harden is doing a lot, the scoring prowess he was able to tote for so long has decreased because he’s finally being recognized for what it is he’s doing: Cheap foul-baiting and exploiting loose rules on offensive contact.
Trae Young, while not quite in the same bad spot as Harden, is also struggling quite a bit. Young, a season removed from averaging 25.3 points and 8.7 free throws per game, is down to 22.3 points and 4.3 free throws per game. While Young is also struggling from the same shooting woes as many of the league’s stars, likely because off the ball change from Spalding to Wilson needing some more adjustment time, but it’s obvious to see there’s a correlation to his ability to put up numbers while shooting far less free throws per game.
Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is another big-time player whose seen both their points drop with their free throw attempts. Last season, Luka averaged 27.7 points on 7.1 free throws a game. This season, he’s averaging 22.4 on 4.4 attempts. While there are a myriad of reasons things aren’t as hot in Dallas as they were a year ago, mostly attributable to a coaching change from mainstay Rick Carlisle to players coach and NBA vet Jason Kidd, it’s still a noticeable drop.
As mentioned before, Curry is averaging 28.7 points per game. That’s not quite the 32 PPG he finished with last season, but we can at least source that it isn’t because of the rule changes. Last season, Curry averaged 5.7 free throws per game. This season, he’s averaging 6.3. He’s the only superstar who was called out by this rule change without it being an accurate take.
People really tried to make Steph Curry the face of the NBA’s foul-baiting problem. Anyone who watches basketball know Harden and Young are the most obvious culprits, with Doncic not too far behind them. Overall, this is an excellent rule change that brings some parity to the game and rewards playing the right way. Not jumping back into a trailing defender, not hooking arms with a defender, just good, clean basketball. It’s mind-boggling to think Curry was outscoring these guys last season by considerable margins while not sitting at the charity stripe all game… At least, until you come to the realization that he is and always has been lightyears ahead of them.
(Photo credit: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)