Oscar Robertson says Buddy Hield is a better all-around basketball player than Steph Curry
Ah, Oscar. Back at it again with the fresh #BadTakes.
This year hasn't been kind to Oscar Robertson in terms of good, defensible sports opinions. After dropping a daisy cutter of a rant in February claiming Steph Curry is only good because NBA defenses are rancid trash, Big O has been swimming upstream through a Class 5 rapid of Ls. And it got even worse today.
Now we have Robertson dropping another of his take bombs, this time praising red-hot Oklahoma senior Buddy Hield while subtly labeling Curry a one-trick pony.
This take was birthed while Robertson was awarding Hield with his namesake honor, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, on Friday. According to SNY's Adam Zagoria, Robertson praised Hield and compared the senior to Curry as another "unguardable" force of basketball after handing over the trophy. He also praised Hield for being more than just a shooter.
"[Hield] has confidence in getting his shot away," Robertson said. "I don't think any of these players can guard him. Just like Steph Curry, they can't guard him. They can't guard Buddy, either. Plus he can go inside and he can rebound. It means a lot also other being a shot, he's a great basketball player."
Alright. Hold up. We need to talk.
Leave aside the fact that Robertson called Curry "unguardable" one month after explaining at length and in minute detail just how very guardable he thinks Curry is. Push that to the side. We are not dancing with that devil today.
What we're going to parse is this line: "It means a lot more than being a shot."
It means a lot that Hield is more than just a shooter like Curry? Hield rebounds and "goes inside," and therefor is a great basketball player—as opposed to a guy who's just good at shooting basketballs?
I did the briefest, most basic fact check on whether Hield is a better inside-out player than Curry. Turns out, nah. Not even a little bit in the beginning:
Curry is pulling down only fractionally fewer rebounds than Hield, who is an inch taller at 6'4".
As for that thing about Hield going inside, a quick shot chart comparison shows that's also untrue.
Curry's making 65.5 percent of his shots under the basket.
During his ungodly run thus far through the tournament, Hield is 12 for 19, or 63 percent in the paint.
Here's Buddy Hield's updated #MarchMadness shot chart. Only 8 of his 117 points have come on midrange shots. pic.twitter.com/OLTLQS2E6u
— Synergy Sports Tech (@SynergySST) March 27, 2016
So yeah, Big O. Still love you, man. But maybe Curry is good at shooting from all distances. And maybe he doesn't actively resent the notion of rebounding or driving the lane.
Just maybe.
Dan is on Twitter. One day Big O is going to show up at his house with eyes full of hate and a sack of sweet Valencia oranges.
