The Warriors have Stephen Curry and the Celtics don’t. Curry proved he is more than just scoring points, he is the stabilizing force at point the Celtics badly lacked when playmaking and turnovers proved the key factors in winning the championship.
This role, along with the championship and the finals MVP, solidified Curry’s status as one of the best ever to play in the NBA.
No doubt Curry and the Warriors’ defense were key factors to the franchise’s fourth title in six tries:
Curry showed up when it counts
Curry showed up when it counted the most. After a scary injury suffered during Game 3 when he got toppled on by Al Horford in a scuffle for ball possession on the hardcourt.
This brings back memories of the Warriors-Celtics game on March 16 where Marcus Smart hit Curry on the knee during another battle for ball possession.
The play sparked a nationwide debate about whether or not it was a dirty play and it was later revealed Curry would miss the remainder of the regular season with a sprained ligament in his foot.
Missing crucial Game 4 is almost surely an impossible handicap to overcome.
Curry, however, did show up for the next three games and was clearly the key difference for the Warriors.
He played his regular minutes and led the Warriors to sweep all three games to turn a 1-2 deficit to a 4-2 series win.
He averaged 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6.33 assists, and is +34 during the last three games.
He is no doubt not just about scoring long three pointers, he is the point guard that the Celtics badly lacked for this series.
It’s time to really consider who he has to bump off in the top 10 players of all-time in order for him to take over a spot.
Warriors’ playmaker is not just a shooter
Curry is much known for being a shooter but his playmaking skills are really much underrated.
Scoring was not the only production that the Warriors got from their primary point guard. He also averaging 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals during the finals.
He has also taken care the ball with his minimal 2.50 turnovers per game despite handling the sphere most of the time.
While the Celtics’ struggle in this aspect of the game overrates Curry’s, his playmaking skills was definitely critical in allowing the Warriors to lessen the impact of the Celtics’ impressive defense.
Warriors won the 100 battle
The Warriors took care of their end on the defensive end. With a hot Celtics defense expected to, and actually, limiting the Warriors to a playoff low 104.8 points per game during the series, Golden State did not allow the Celtics to ran them over in scoring.
The Warriors allowed the Celtics 100.8 points a game and was even meager at 92.25 during their wins.
The difference in scoring as a key to victory was very glaring Celtics average 118 during their two wins. Strictly speaking, the Warriors defense outperformed the Warriors offense in this series.
The surprising holding of the Celtics below the century mark alone might have been enough to bag the title.
Forcing Boston to too much turnovers
The lack of a true point guard who can orchestrate the offense and take care of their possessions was too much for Boston to overcome as turnovers also hastened the downfall of the Celtics.
The Celtics threw 97 possessions away the entire series, an average of 16.17 per game. It got higher to 18.25 during their losses.
Boston’s primary playmakers Jayson Tatum (23), Jaylen Brown (20), and Marcus Smart (19) almost equally accounted for 62 of those turnovers.
Their deficiency on the defense side maybe a burden for the Celtics coaching staff but in hindsight, having the likes Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, or Kemba Walker during this series could be the swing factor for the Celtics’ winning their 18th title.
By: Armando M. Bolislis
