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Blazers: 5 goals for Seth Curry in his first season back from injury

By Nate Mann

PORTLAND, OR - JULY 6: Seth Curry #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers poses for a head shot after being signed on July 6, 2018 at the Trail Blazer Practice Facility in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - JULY 6: Seth Curry #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers poses for a head shot after being signed on July 6, 2018 at the Trail Blazer Practice Facility in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – MARCH 29: Seth Curry #30 of the Dallas Mavericks reacts during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on March 29, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – MARCH 29: Seth Curry #30 of the Dallas Mavericks reacts during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on March 29, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

Off the ball play

The Portland Trail Blazers notoriously stagger Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to have one of them on the court for nearly all four quarters. Last year, the two joined each other on the bench for a limited 254 in-game minutes.

Additionally, Neil Olshey expressed interest in letting Evan Turner have more ball handling duties this coming season.

All of that leaves Seth Curry with minimal “point guard” time. He won’t take the ball up the court as often as he did in Dallas, making his role with the bench unit be a spot-up shooter.

Fortunately, the transition to more quick-trigger threes won’t feel unusual for Curry. In 2016-2017, his shooting frequencies were:

  • 0 dribbles: 65% of his threes, 5.8% of his twos, and 33.8% of his total shots.
  • 1 dribble: 6.5% of his threes, 15.7% of his twos, and 10.9% of his totals shots.
  • 2 or more dribbles: 28.5% of his threes, 78.5% of his twos, and 55.3% of his total shots.
  • Touch time under 2 seconds: 69.7% of his threes, 13.7% of his twos, and 39.5% of his total shots.
  • Touch time 2-6 seconds: 17.4% of his threes, 54.9% of his twos, and 36.5% of his total shots.
  • Touch time over 6 seconds: 12.9% of his threes, 31.4% of his twos, and 24.% of his total shots.

Catch-and-shoot threes have dominated Curry’s shooting tendencies, and he’ll be asked to reliably knock these shots down next season. It’s comforting to see that one of the new guard additions from this summer won’t need to adjust to his play style.