The Golden State Warriors completed the most epic choke job in NBA history when the darling franchise of the NBA dropped three games in a row to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. As with any choke job, the victors deserve credit for squeezing the throats of their opponents. However, with exception to a catastrophic injury to a star player, any team that loses a series after a 3-1 lead is guilty of a gargantuan gag. In this case, the MVCs (Most Valuable Chokers) are none other than Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr.
Let’s start with the reigning, defending league MVP. Regular readers of In the Clutch know my affinity for Curry. I have been adamant that he’s been the best player in the game for the past two seasons. I play ball in Curry Ones. I even PhotoShop the oh-so-adorable Riley Curry into all my family photos. OK, that last sentence was a lie, but you get the point. Still, there’s no denying the fact that in the past two Finals, Curry has not lived up to the standard of being the best player in the game.
Looking at the numbers, during the 2014-15 regular season, Curry averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 3.1 turnovers. His numbers in the 2015 Finals looked OK, with averages of 26 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 4.7 turnovers. However, keep in mind that he averaged 42.5 minutes per game in the Finals vs just 32.7 in the regular season.
This year, Curry averaged 30.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.1 steals and 3.3 turnovers during the regular season and became the first unanimous MVP in league history. In the Finals though, he averaged just 22.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 4.3 turnovers. Curry shot just 40.3% in the Finals compared to 50.4% during the regular season. Outside of his 38-point outburst in Game 4, Mr. Unanimous turned into Mr. Anonymous. So what exactly happened?
First of all, credit must be given to the Cavaliers defense. The Cavs put relentless pressure on Curry at all times. They pushed, grabbed, bumped him all around the court and did a solid job of keeping a hand in his face at all times. Curry helped them out a lot by making plenty of lazy passes. Making behind-the-back passes at the top of the key might work during the regular season, but not when championship bling is on the line. Curry is often given leeway with turnovers and questionable shots because, more often than not, he turns them into remarkable plays. However, there’s just no excuse for so many unforced turnovers for trying to be cute. The Cavaliers were just not having it.
More importantly, they pressured Curry on the defensive end of the court. Coach Tyronn Lue, made a concerted effort to run pick and roll action with James towards Curry. For some strange reason, it took Kerr six games to figure out that his team should stop switching Curry onto James during picks. The 6’8” modern-day Hercules versus the 6’3 version of Olive Oyl just isn’t ever going to be a good matchup. Much of the Warriors defensive success is based on the fact that Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguoldala are fairly interchangeable when it comes to defensive switches. Curry is not.
The Cavaliers also ran pick and roll action with Kyrie Irving towards Curry. While Thompson and Green are the Warriors’ resident stoppers, Curry is usually a decent defender of guards. However, Irving morphed into Uncle Drew in the Finals and cooked Curry and Thompson almost at will. King James may have led both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks during the Finals, but it was Irving who repeatedly made jaw-dropping, contested shots that took the heart out of the Warriors. It wore Curry down and shook his confidence. It also caused him to miss a number of wide open jumpers, which are usually layups for Curry. Meanwhile, James’ defense was key as he had several key blocks during the Cavaliers run that helped the choking Warriors go to sleep.
Fixed or nah?
Many Warriors fans are complaining of a fix, mainly around Green’s suspension from Game 5. I agree that the suspension was petty. Sure, Green took a swipe at the king’s family jewels, but only because James walked over him and draped his business all across Green’s neck. A slam dunk situation is the only time that type of behavior is allowable. The referees reviewed the play on video and surely saw Green’s attempted swipe, but knew that his reaction was just a natural reflex to crotch being shoved in his face. Would the NBA have assessed a post-game flagrant if that had happened in Game 6? Absolutely not. The Green suspension was predicated on extending the series. However it cannot explain or excuse the Warriors collapse.
The Warriors also never recovered from Andrew Bogut’s injury. Beside the 6’7” Green, Bogut is the Warriors’ only legitimate rim protector. Festus Ezeli gets the job done at times, but couldn’t stay out of foul trouble. Bogut’s absence made it much easier for James and Irving to do as they pleased in the paint.
Barnes, you da real MVP
Speaking of absences, I fully expected LeBron James to give a tearful thanks to Barnes for his complete garbage performance in the Finals. To call Harrison Barnes Finals’ performance garbage, would be an insult to landfills around the world. Earlier in the year, Barnes turned down a 4-year, $64 million contract offer. Now heading into free agency after an awful Finals, I bet he’s wishing he’d taken the money. Golden State would be smart to let him walk and go fishing for a big-name player such as Kevin Durant or DeMar DeRozan or a quality, gritty second-tier guy like Luol Deng or Joakhim Noah.
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