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Frazier doubts Curry 'will reach this level' beyond current season
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Thursday, March 3, 2016 - 2:00pm
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Steph Curry is the reigning MVP and is the odds-on favorite to capture the award again.

What does Hall-of-Famer Walt Frazier think of Curry's game, and who would he compare Curry to from past eras?

"There's no comparison because of the 3-ball, man," the Knicks broadcaster said on ESPN's "Mike and Mike" on Thursday morning. "Former players, I never had an opportunity for the 3-ball ... if there was no 3-ball shot, would we be talking about the greatness of Curry today? What has made him great is his ability, uncanny ability, to shoot from 30 feet, 35 feet, the accuracy that he has shown in making that particular shot."

At this point, Ryen Russillo asked Frazier: "So if you took the three away, then, what kind of player would he be? Because I guess I'd argue that he'd probably make a lot of 2s."

[RELATED: Curry named Western Conference Player of the Month]

"Yeah, but it would be a little more difficult because now you have to use penetration," Frazier answered. "You can't handcheck these guys anymore. But now if you're looking for twos, you can be a little more physical than threes, because threes, guys are just hanging out behind the arc...

"This is the other thing guys -- my forte was defense ... any phenomenal player, I had to guard that guy. so when I'm guarding these guys, I'm trying to take away what they do best. So today, if I'm guarding Curry, he might have 25 2s on me, but he's not gonna have 13 3s because I'm gonna be forcing him inside of the arc.

"So this is what the former players are saying: How do you let a guy continue to do what he does, and you know what he's trying to do is make the 3-point shot?"

Curry leads the league in scoring at 30.7 points per game.

He's made 288 3-pointers -- 103 more than Klay Thompson, who has made the second most.

Curry is third in 3-point percentage at 46.8.

Perhaps the most astonishing stat is that he's fourth in the NBA in 2-point percentage at 57.1.

So how do you defend him?

Last week, Oscar Robertson said that Curry is shooting so well because "coaches do not understand the game of basketball as far as I'm concerned."

This prompted Russillo to ask Frazier: "Doesn't it seem weird that the theory is that 29 other NBA head coaches can't figure out how to play defense on Curry ... so none of the players of today, and none of the coaches today, can apply what you would have done if you had played against him in your era?"

"They'll have to figure it out, man," Frazier answered. "To me, I look at the most phenomenal seasons in the NBA -- Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50 points per game, Nate Archibald led the league in scoring and assists, the 'Big O' averaged a triple-double -- but they didn't do that ever year. They never reached that pinnacle once they did that.

"To me, this is where Curry is. He's having that phenomenal season, a signature season, but is he gonna do this for the next five years? I don't really think so. So I don't know if he'll ever reach this level again. So this is what he's doing now, maybe they won't be able to stop him this year, but they'll have to find a way to contain this guy like they've done Kobe, like they're doing LeBron, like they've done all the other superstars in the league."

Curry is just 27 years old. He turns 28 on March 14.

 

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