With less than three minutes remaining the third quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, it appeared that midnight might have finally struck on Stephen Curry’s Cinderella season. Despite the absence of All-Star Kyrie Irving, Curry stumbled and bumbled his way through seven quarters of terrible basketball during Game 2 and Game 3 of the Finals. The league MVP was being shut down and taken out of his game by a guy who looks like he belongs in an Adam Sandler movie instead of the NBA Finals. Down by 20 points, Curry had a decision to make. He could either keep playing soft, scared and intimidated or he could man up and fight back.
Until that point, Andre Iguodala was the only Warriors player who put up much of a fight in Game 3. Iggy hustled on both ends of the court and took the ball to the rack with desperation and reckless abandon. Meanwhile Curry had allowed Matthew Dellavedova to transform him from the most feared shooter in the land into a timid guy begging for shots to fall. Curry ran lazily around screens. He got the ball out of his hands almost immediately as soon as he passed half court and didn’t get it back. The guy who tantalized fans the entire season with his ball-handling wizardy, speedy and clever attacks to the basket and unbelievable shot making ability was replaced by a guy who just wanted his defender to leave him alone.
Curry’s timidness apparently rubbed off of his Splash Brother Klay Thompson. After a stellar Game 2 in which he kept the Warriors in the game, Thompson hesitated on several wide open looks in the 96-91 Game 3 loss. Had the Cavaliers managed to blow out the Warriors, they may very well have crushed their spirits and cruised to one of the more shocking NBA titles in years. Luckily for Warriors fans, Curry finally chose to fight back.
With just three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Curry had accumulated just three points. But with his back against the wall, Steph morphed back into Chef. He got aggressive, he dazzled, he attacked. He brought his team back from the brink of embarrassment. After being so average for so long, Curry finished with a solid points, 6 rebound and 6 assists. In doing so, he regained his confidence and helped his teammates do the same.
He had some help from STL’s own David Lee, who had languished for on the end of the bench for most of the playoffs. When his number was finally called, Lee worked the pick and roll game with Curry to perfection and provided hustle and skill to give the Warriors a boost. If the Warriors want a chance to get back in the series, they’ll need Lee to gobble up some rebounds away from Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mosgov, who have proven to be too athletic and relentless for Andrew Bogut and the Warriors bigs.
Cavaliers show strong will to win and defend
The reason the Cavaliers are up 2-1 despite significant injuries is simple – they want it more. LeBron James is fighting as hard as we’ve ever seen to bring the Cleveland Cavaliers its first NBA title. Through three games, James is averaging 41 points, 12 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game in the Finals. His performance has been epic. While his shooting percentage may not be great, he’s doing everything on the court to win and his teammates have been feeding off his tremendous energy and effort. James wants to get to the basket, Thompson wants to get offensive boards, Mosgov wants to attack the rim, Dellavedova wants to attack….well….everyone.
The Cavs come up with nearly every loose ball. They are physical. They are resilient. So far it has been like watching the movie “300” where even though they are outmatched, they are putting up a tremendous fight out of sheer will power and hard-nosed fighting. James and his teammates have forced the Warriors to play at their pace. It’s like a Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Bernard Hopkins fight where their defense and pace has stifled their opponents and rendered their offense largely ineffective. The only game in which the Warriors scored more than 100 points was in Game 1 and it took overtime to get over the hump.
The old adage is offense wins games, defense wins championships. During the regular season, the Warriors had a stellar offense and defense, which is why they were the big favorites going into these Finals. However, it’s the Cavs defense that has been the difference in the series. If Chef Curry wants to get out of hell’s kitchen, he’ll have to buck the trend and get it done on the offensive end. After his Game 3 finish there’s a sliver of hope. However he and the Warriors will have to dig down deep and find a way to outwork the Delly and the King. At this point, even the notion of that happening sounds almost as silly as the idea of the Cavs winning without Love and Irving did at the start of the series. Ah, what a strange and exciting Finals.
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