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While LeBron James bulldozes his way to the rim…
While Draymond Green claws and fights in the paint…
Stephen Curry’s NBA Finals have played out quite differently.
His has been an exercise in patience, strategy, and perseverance.
With brute force on the inside dominating much of this series, as is typical in the Finals, Curry has had to wait.
Ever watch the TV show, Survivor? Rarely does the meathead jock make it to end. Often, it’s the player who uses their brain as much as their brawn who figures it out and becomes the last survivor standing.
The motto of Survivor is: Outwit, Outlast, Outplay.
That is exactly what Curry demonstrated when he unleashed for 37 points on 7-for-13 from three point range, by far his finest Finals appearance, en route to another Golden State Warriors victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a series-defining Game 5.
He has waited for Matthew Dellavedova to wear down and ease off.
He has waited for the Cavs to slow down and lose focus just enough to give him an inch.
An inch is all Curry needs to fire up a shot.
So while we have all contemplated what has been wrong with Curry during these NBA Finals, wondering where his shot has been, why his body language has seemed negative, he’s been playing Survivor this whole time. He looks at Dellavedova and his weak knees full-court pressuring him, expending energy to try to bully him, and he knows it’s only a matter of time before he hits the wall.
Dellavedova scored 5 points on 2-for-9 shooting and only 2 assists. This, after only 10 points on 3-for-14 field goals in Game 4.
In other words, Curry is outlasting him.
While the injury-stricken Cavs had played well above their abilities in Games 2 and 3, their attack is predicated on sheer one-on-one domination by James. Now, five games in, his play is becoming predictably one-note and he has not been able to adjust.
Thus, the defense is outwitting he and his team.
Most of this series has been about role players stepping up. Through much of the regular season, the “Splash Brothers” of Curry and Klay Thompson dominated the headlines, but it has been the energy, effort, and clutch play of Andre Iguodala, Green, even Leandro Barbosa and David Lee that has kept the Warriors on their path when the defense has converged on the two shooters.
It hasn’t been simple, but the Warriors are outplaying the Cavaliers.