matuski said:
Because they didn't think of shooting before the arc, because pre analytics those were bad shots, and taking bad shots was a great way to watch the rest of a game from the bench.
What you could do in space back then? Hand check. What you can't do in space today? Hand check, or even touch the guy really. Which is why he kills people in space.
This entire premise you are on is based on the idea that Steph Curry would make exactly zero adjustments in his game to play in a previous era.
In previous times, there was more compression around the rim. The modern game has three core positions now - floor spacing rim protecting pivot, 3 And D wing and lead guard/attack guard. While there are some specialists, that's the practical core of the modern Space And Pace game. However in previous eras, there were a true five position breakdowns. There was a clear distinction between small forwards and shooting guards. Classic double doubles type power forwards had to battle through more hard contact and the game was designed to constantly contest for rebounds. There was a glaring lack of effective rim protection as well.
Curry does not have Tim Hardaway's classic UTEP two step crossover, however he would also not face a versatile wing like a Mikal Bridges in the previous era. Wardell would have a much easier time to get to the rim against slow lumbering enforcer type power forwards, slow burn small forwards and do better at the rim with a scarcity of effective pivots in the league. With more compression towards the rim, Curry wouldn't need to gun it from logo range. Logo range is a product of expanding the gravity around what is considered current league nominal floor spacing. Curry would be shooting closer to the three point line because he's not being driven further off of that line by widespread defensive strategy.
Curry is a high BBIQ player who is a good decision maker, a good ball handler, moves extremely well off the ball and is a generational level long range shooter. More than that, he's the best long range shooter in the league's entire history. He's proven he can keep burning other teams even with excessive hard contact used against him ( he doesn't flop and he doesn't cry for foul calls even though it's clear he's often entitled to both on many occasions) He has lightning quick consistent release that can be unleashed even with double coverage draped all over him.
What's also not addressed is though Curry would be exposed to more aggressive abuse in the age of the tolerated enforcer types, he would also have enforcer types on his own team. If you hit Curry, this time around, in the past, someone like Rick Mahorn would forearm shiver someone into the ground for it. Could other teams savage Curry with physicality? For a while, until the counter beatdowns started to take effect. Your argument seems to rest on a one sided notion of Gretzky getting hammered without the reality that Marty McSorley also existed.
OK, so maybe Curry has to take a few more mid range jumpers. His shot is wet, why would that bother him. He's a generational level shooter and he just needs a little daylight to stab you in the heart. Also today's jumbo wings have incredible length, which impacts all the passing lanes. In a previous era where players didn't have the same length/athleticism/recovery, Wardell could turn into a passing machine when he wasn't bombing other teams into oblivion.
Would fit matter? Probably. If Curry played for the first iteration of Nellieball then Don Nelson brought up Steve Alford for the express purpose of taking set shot three pointers on a fast break opportunity. Not attack the rim, but get his feet set and launch threes. Some teams would likely use Curry better than others but every team could use Curry. The current Warriors "motion offense" incorporates elements from all the major systems. Triangle, Four Out, Seven Seconds Or Less, Nellieball, Princeton, Wooden's 2/3 high set, etc, etc. There is no system where Curry would not eventually adapt and find a way to thrive.
To assess Curry in the same class as a Trent Tucker / Craig Hodges / Dale Ellis archetype just because he entered a slight time machine is actually bizarre and makes no sense.
Long range shooting always translates. And Curry is a gunner on an entirely different level than everyone else in NBA history. Maybe a Tyrone Hill or a Kevin Willis would need to do a little more bulldozing to clear Wardell a path, but I don't see why he wouldn't eventually adapt.
Spacing would compress some and that would impact some dynamics, but what changes the lethality of the greatest individual long range bomber in league history?
