One of the key trades Daryl Morey swung this past offseason was for Seth Curry. He packaged Josh Richardson and the 36th pick in the draft together and shipped them off to the Dallas Mavericks. In return, the Sixers acquired the 3rd best 3-point shooter all time (percentage-wise).
Curry and Danny Green represented a massive improvement in the shooting surrounding Philly’s big 3 of Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid. Last year saw the offense cramped and stagnant as no member of the starting 5 shot better than 37% from deep. This year, four members of the starting 5 are shooting >40% from beyond the arc on decent volume. In turn, the offense has had better spacing, which is a major reason why Embiid is having a career year.
Curry leads the team in terms of accuracy from deep at 42%. But is trailing Green in terms of 3’s made per game (2.1 vs 2.6) and attempts per game (4.9 vs 6.3). No disrespect to the Green Ranger, a veteran wing who has made a career knocking down 3s, but Curry should be pacing the team in three-point shooting, not playing second fiddle. Coach Doc Rivers himself has said he wants Curry to let it fly more often.
Let’s compare Curry’s shooting numbers to JJ Redick in 2018-2019. Redick played in a different offense than Seth does now, so it isn’t a perfect comparison, but it will add some context. So far this year, Curry is averaging a career-best 10 FGA/game with about half coming from 3 (4.9). In ’18-’19, Redick averaged 13.5 FGA/game, with 8 of those coming from 3 – good for nearly 60% of his shot attempts. As mentioned, JJ was used differently. The Redick-Embiid two-man game was a staple of the offense while Curry is more of a pure spot-up threat and ball handler. But Seth is a good enough shooter to shoot a Redick-level number of threes per game.
Philly’s offense this year has been good, but not on the level of other Eastern Conference contenders. Curry taking advantage of the green light more frequently could help elevate them into the elite tier. The Sixers currently rank 25th in the league in 3’s made per game. More threes from a proven shooter like Seth would bolster that ranking and open things up even more for Simmons, Harris, and Embiid. Defenses becoming strained while accounting for Curry would present more driving opportunities for Simmons and Harris. It would also allow Embiid more space to work in the post while reducing the number of double teams he sees per game. Taking advantage of Doc’s green light could give Philly an explosive offense to pair with their elite defense.
Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE
