The Light Years Era One... Feat. Eric Apricot
No team has defined the modern era of NBA basketball like the Golden State Warriors. Dive into why this new iteration is elite and how Steph Curry is the first player to put a value on his gravity.
A special thank you to
for coming on the podcast to dig into one of the hottest teams in the NBA post-trade deadline: Golden State.
As always, The Low Man Help Podcast would not be possible without our outstanding producer, Jacob Sutton—Check out his work here!
Podcast Timeline:
00:00 Introduction to the Warriors' Current Season
02:44 The Impact of Jimmy Butler's Arrival
05:06 Defensive Strategies and Adjustments
10:21 Offensive Dynamics with Jimmy Butler' Unique Playing Style
17:11 Kuminga's Role and Team Dynamics with Key Players
27:18 The Growth of Young Talents: Moody and Podz
30:38 The Importance of Confidence, Communication, and Empowerment
37:13 Steph Curry's Impact on Modern Basketball
45:57 Playoff Prospects and Team Optimism
Eric’s Explain One Play “WTF” Edit:
During the podcast I reference this “WTF” play and Eric’s content on his YouTube channel. Here is the play:
Quantifying Steph Curry’s “Fear”:
I’ve always been fascinated by off-ball gravity and the fear a player can instill in the defense without having the ball in their hands. However, quantifying this concept has seemed impossible until now (well maybe not, but I gave it a try anyways).
No player in the world creates fear or has a gravitational pull off the ball like Steph Curry; he’s one of a kind. What is that type of fear worth to the Golden State offense?
… 11.6 points per 100 possessions.
Stick with me here.
Curry leads the league in Off-Ball Screens run this season with 1,086 total actions. These are all non-on-ball reps, so the defensive shell should NOT be centered on his action. In theory, the defensive spacing should be based on where the ball is located. So these actions will show his gravitational pull without the ball in his hands.
I filtered these actions for a 400-action minimum, the Top 55 players in volume.
Curry’s Off-Ball Screen:
Touch Percentage: 17th (65.8%)
Points Per Direct: 11th (1.160)
Points Per Possession: 1st (1.276)
The difference between Curry’s points per direct number (1.160) and the Golden State points per possession number (1.276) is 0.116 points per possession, which translates to 11.6 points over 100 possessions. That’s the value of Steph Curry’s off-ball gravity to the Golden State offense.
I’m sure more intelligent people like
or would know how to factor in the touch percentage, but I don’t have as much big brain energy as those guys, so 11.6 per 100 it is!
Marzie is Pondering How Many More Points Per Possession She Is Worth To A Team Than Air Bud…
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