Curry is only the 329th player...

[ninephive]

...to score 40 points in a playoff game since 1964. But only 212 players did it on 50% or better like Curry (actually probably more, but that stat only goes back to 1984). Historically great performance.

[3ball]

Each stat is linked to NBA.COM:

Over 80% of today's 3-point attempts are "open" (4-6 feet from closest defender) or "very open" (6+ feet) - [COLOR="Navy"]as described by NBA.com[/COLOR]:



[COLOR="White"]........................................[/COLOR]0-2 ft (very tight)[COLOR="White"]....[/COLOR] 2-4 ft (tight)[COLOR="White"].....[/COLOR] 4-6 ft (open)[COLOR="White"].... [/COLOR]6+ ft (very open)

[COLOR="DarkRed"]LEAGUE-AVERAGE
3-PT ATTEMPTS PER GAME[/COLOR] [COLOR="White"]....[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]........[/COLOR]0.4[COLOR="White"]....................[/COLOR] 4.1[COLOR="White"]..................[/COLOR]9.9[COLOR="White"]..................[/COLOR]9.4 [COLOR="DarkGreen"]<-- nba.com[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL 3-PT ATTEMPTS[/COLOR] [COLOR="White"]....[/COLOR][COLOR="White"].............[/COLOR]1.7%[COLOR="White"]................[/COLOR]17.2%[COLOR="White"].............[/COLOR]41.6%[COLOR="White"].............[/COLOR]39.5%




Over [COLOR="blue"]70%[/COLOR] of Curry's 3-point attempts are either "open" (4-6 ft) or "very open" (6+ ft).. However, the league average is [COLOR="red"]80%[/COLOR], as shown above.



[COLOR="White"]........................................[/COLOR]0-2 ft (very tight)[COLOR="White"]....[/COLOR] 2-4 ft (tight)[COLOR="White"].....[/COLOR] 4-6 ft (open)[COLOR="White"].... [/COLOR]6+ ft (very open)

[COLOR="DarkRed"]STEPH CURRY'S.
3-PT ATTEMPTS PER GAME[/COLOR] [COLOR="White"]....[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]........[/COLOR]0.4[COLOR="White"]....................[/COLOR] 2.9[COLOR="White"]..................[/COLOR]5.1[COLOR="White"]..................[/COLOR]2.7 [COLOR="DarkGreen"]<-- nba.com[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL 3-PT ATTEMPTS[/COLOR] [COLOR="White"]....[/COLOR][COLOR="White"].............[/COLOR]0.4%[COLOR="White"]................[/COLOR] 26.1%[COLOR="White"].............[/COLOR]45.9%[COLOR="White"].............[/COLOR]24.3%

[3ball]

NBA.com's stats in the post above shows that most of today's 3-pointers (including Curry's) are wide open, which makes sense - today's drive-and-kick offenses require 3-4 players standing behind the line on every play (spacing), so the defense is stretched out and can't make timely rotations most of the time.

Jordan would benefit immensely from this spacing dynamic.. He has the same goat athleticism as Lebron/Westbrook, but they can't shoot, and Jordan could - he had goat midrange efficiency, better than Curry's, which puts him in Curry's category as a goat shooter, and gives him a similarly massive advantage over non-shooters Lebron and Westbrook.

[3ball]

Unlike today's 3-point-happy league, Jordan didn't have teammates spreading the floor for him - teams only attempted 5 threes per game when Jordan won his first ring in 1991, compared to 25 attempts per game for today's teams.

So today's player benefits from teammates that space the floor and cause defenders to cover more ground - three-point shooters benefit [COLOR="Navy"]the most[/COLOR] from scrambling defenders, which is why 80% of today's 3-pointers (including Curry's) are "open" or "very open", as described on NBA.com's stats page.

Otoh, Jordan achieved his stats WITHOUT teammates spreading the floor.. In today's spaced-out game, his stats would explode because he has the same (better) athleticism as Lebron/Westbrook, but they can't shoot, and Jordan could - he had goat midrange efficiency, much better than Curry's, which puts him in Curry's category as a goat shooter, and gives him a similarly massive advantage over non-shooters Lebron and Westbrick.
.

[Jasper]

...to score 40 points in a playoff game since 1964. But only 212 players did it on 50% or better like Curry (actually probably more, but that stat only goes back to 1984). Historically great performance.

surprising he didn't his usual 10 shots at 40 feet

He acted like a baller with his 40 and 6 dimes.

[Steven Kerry]

The 40 is not impressive. The overtime was.

[riseagainst]

still a better player with 1 good knee than prime Tony Parker.
Sorry, OP.

[SouBeachTalents]

3ball melting down

[tmacattack33]

?

I didn't even see the game but I would think that the most important part of it was his 17 points in Overtime. That was historical. His 40 points is great, but 40 points in the playoffs happens like 5-10 times per year.