Curry, LeBron pick up Player of the Month hardware
Stephen Curry and LeBron James have been named NBA Players of the Month for February in the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.
There's no debate whatsoever in awarding Curry. The reigning league MVP may have clinched his second straight Maurice Podoloff Trophy with a 53.6-percent 3-point shooting mark, and averages of 36.7 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.6 rebounds in 10 February games - nine of which were victories for the Golden State Warriors.
The month saw Curry have two 50-point outings and score more than 40 in each of his last three games. The run was punctuated with a 38-foot game-winning trey in overtime against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In that contest, he also shot 75 percent from beyond the arc and surpassed his own NBA record for 3-pointers in a campaign.
Overall, he had a true shooting percentage of 71.6 and PER of 38.4. Needless to say, these statistics led the league.
Curry's shot chart for February is either a model of modern efficiency, or perhaps something straight out of a video game:
Stephen Curry's shot chart in Feb. On top of it being crazy, he hit his 5 shots farthest from the rim. 71.6 TS%!!!! pic.twitter.com/PRwtWCMBSv
— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) February 28, 2016
James, whose Cleveland Cavaliers fell to Curry and the Warriors in last June's NBA Finals, takes home honors in the East on the strength of 24.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.3 assists in 12 games. James shot 49.6 percent from the floor in February, and recorded a triple-double in a pre-All-Star-break win over the Sacramento Kings.