All season long the Golden State Warriors proved they were the best team in basketball. Though the deep and talented team stormed to a tremendous 67-15 record during the regular season, questions still lingered as the Warriors entered the playoffs. Is Stephen Curry really that good? Can a jump shooting team win the NBA title? Can the boys from the Bay beat the best player on the planet? Well, the Warriors cast all doubt aside, passed the pop quiz and popped the bubbly as they defeated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. With the victory the Warriors earned the franchise’s first NBA championship since in 40 years.
I used the word ‘earned’ because the victory was not easy. Cleveland started the series with one All-Star Kevin Love on the sidelines and watched another, Kyrie Irving, join him soon thereafter. Still, after three games the Cavs found themselves up 2-1 on the back of LeBron James and the heart and hustle of Tristan Thompson. Actually, the entire Cavaliers team seemed to be playing harder. They wanted it more. They seemingly emerged off the floor with every loose ball and were greedy on the boards.
Random basketball extra Matthew Dellavedova received well-deserved praise and adulation for his fantastic full-court defense of Curry, but it would be short lived. During the final quarter of the Warriors’ 96-91 Game 3 loss, a light bulb went off in Curry’s head. The reigning league MVP realized that if he attacked on the offensive end and put pressure on Dellavedova instead of allowing Delly to pressure him, it would open up the offense for Curry and his teammates. Through those first three games, the Warriors never scored more than 100 points in regulation. After Game 3, the Warriors never scored less than 100.
It was fascinating to watch James try to will his team to victory. His stat lines were jaw dropping. King James finished the series with averages of 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists. Those numbers are otherworldly. However, James had to work extremely hard for every one of those points, assists and boards, especially when Andre Iguoldala was on the call. Iggy ensured that nearly all of James’ shots were heavily contested. Despite the big numbers, James shot a paltry 39.8% from the field during the series. By comparison, Klay Thompson, who by all accounts had a subpar Finals, shot 40.9% from the field. It took James nearly 33 shots per game to average just a hair under 36 points. That is certainly not a model of efficiency. Iguodala essentially snatched the defensive pest baton from Dellavedova and anchored his team all the way to the championship.
That’s why I believe that Iguodala was absolutely the right selection for Finals MVP. I never bought into the James MVP talk. Without him, his team surely would have lost, but guess what? With him, his team still lost. While Curry led the team in stats and SportsCenter-worthy plays, Iguodala simply led the team. Every single game, Iguodala was the heart and soul of his squad. He pushed the tempo when his Warriors teammates seemed too timid. He attacked the basket when nobody else would. He came up with key steals and defensive stops when the Warriors needed them. Though his Finals stat line of 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.3 steals may seem pretty regular, in the words of Dick Vitale, Iguodala was the “glue guy.” If Steve Kerr hadn’t replaced overmatched center Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup with Iguodala after Game 3, the city of Cleveland may very well be celebrating one of the biggest Finals upsets in recent history.
Though Iguodala was the MVP, Curry was still the chef. It’s a bit disrespectful that Curry didn’t receive a single vote for Finals MVP. Though there’s a huge sentiment that he struggled through half the series, Curry finished with averages of 26 points, 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. He only scored less than 20 points once (Game 2) and shot a respectable 44.3% from the field. Of course, Game 5 was his signature performance where he dropped 37 and seemed to get better as the degree of difficulty rose. Curry decisively ended any notion that Dellavedova’s defensive success was anything more than an aberration (at worst) or a speed bump (at best). In the clincher, Cleveland double-teamed Curry on every single pick and roll and he made them pay almost every time. He shredded the defense with his deft ball handling and precise passing. Like they’ve done all season long, his teammates rewarded him by knocking down shots.
The team’s tremendous depth ensured that whenever one player struggled, another was waiting in the wings to make an impact. While James tried to put the Cavs on his back and carry them to a title, the Warriors players lifted up their superstar and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best team in the NBA resides in the Bay.
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