Rip Hamilton: Kevin Durant, not Steph Curry, should have last shot for Warriors

Dubs should turn to the former MVP over the super-shooting reigning MVP, Pistons legend says

Usually, arguments about who should take the last shot in a basketball game become reductive and overly simplistic. These are conversations about heart, the "clutch gene" and the ability to make big shots, but don't provide much insight.

However, on CBS Sports' "NBA Crossover" show Thursday, Pistons legend Rip Hamilton made an interesting point about who should get the last hoist for the Golden State Warriors, saying that Durant is the absolute, no-brainer selection every time.

Hamilton's reasoning is that Durant has the size to finish through contact and absorb fouls, and given that officials are more likely to resist making calls in those situations, Curry's size is a detriment.

There's some interesting data on this.

For starters, Curry was one of the best finishers in the league last year. His at-rim numbers were berserk, part of the reason he won unanimous MVP. He's shooting 66 percent from inside five feet this season, which is actually up from last year. Durant, though, is shooting an insane 78 percent inside five feet.

Then you have the clutch numbers. These are shots to tie or take the lead inside the last minute, since Curry's rookie season in 2010.

Clutch since 2010	Made shots	Percentage
Kevin Durant	39	31
Stephen Curry	18	33

This season, under 3 minutes with a game inside five points, Durant has drawn 27 free throws to Curry's 23.

So generally speaking, there's some validity to what Hamilton's saying. Durant is bigger, and can absorb contact. Curry's accuracy on such shots has been superior, but Durant's also made way more of those kinds of shots. Durant's size is an advantage. And as we saw in last year's Game 7, Curry's had some foibles, including getting locked up by Kevin Love.

Here are the clutch playoff numbers, by the way.

Clutch since 2010 (playoffs)	Made shots	Percentage
Kevin Durant	12	26
Stephen Curry	4	31

Some of this gets to the heart of the Warriors' clutch-time problems which they've been discussing since Sunday's loss to Cleveland. The Warriors vacillate between playing too sloppy as they try emulate their free-wheeling time in tight, hyper-contested situations, and going into isolation plays for Durant, or holding the ball too long waiting for someone to pop open from a screen. That's what happened on the Warriors' shot-clock violation.

Stephen Curry is the best shooter ever, but should he have the last shot for the Warriors? USATSI

Watch how Andre Iguodala waits for Klay Thompson to try and come loose off the weakside screen and how when the Cavs jump it, they have no real answer. Also notice that Curry does almost nothing on this play.

So who should take the last shot? The Warriors have two good options. Durant has missed more attempts, and even he had issues with coming up short in clutch situations in Oklahoma City. But Curry's profile just isn't the same.

Durant has established himself as the Warriors' best player this season, and given how good he is, and how tall, athletic, and strong, he's probably the better answer. However, Steve Kerr will likely keep with his formula of trying to get the best possible quality of shot when the Warriors need it most or, preferably, beating teams by so much they never have to worry about the last shot.