CLEVELAND —
LeBron James has
imposed his will on the
NBA Finals. He has cre-
ated a blueprint for how
a superstar impacts a
game at this level, domi-
nates the ultimate series.
Now Stephen Curry
needs to do the same
for the Warriors.
He needs to flip the
switch and go into take-
over mode. It would be
ideal for the coaching
staff to give him the
green light, but if not, he
needs to take it anyway.
The Warriors need
Curry to play like the
NBA’s Most Valuable
Player in all-important
Game 4 of the NBA
Finals on Thursday night.
The Warriors trail James’
Cleveland Cavaliers 2-1 in
the series and desperately
need to win this game.
How big is Game 4?
In the history of the
NBA Finals, no team
has ever recovered from
a 3-1 deficit to win
the championship.
We saw in the fourth
quarter of Game 3 on
Tuesday night what it
looks like when Curry
gets in the zone. The fear
he struck in the Cavaliers,
the trouble he caused
their defenders, the con-
fidence he gave his team-
mates — it was a trailer of
what it would look like if
he took over this series.
It’s not about how
many shots Curry makes
or misses. Nor about
his assist-to-turnover
ratio. No one is talking
about LeBron’s ineffi-
ciency, instead prepping
the sketches for his
carving on the NBA’s
Mount Rushmore.
This is about Curry
playing as if he knows he
belongs in that elite class
of players. The Warriors
need him to impose his
will on the Cavaliers.
Now more than ever, in
this crucial Game 4, the
Warriors need Curry to be
the Baby-Faced Assassin.
And not wait until
they’re down 20 points.
“I challenge myself,”
Curry said Wednesday.
“I do have to play better
and play more consis-
tent and do more to
help our team win.”
Curry doesn’t have
LeBron’s experience of
starring on the NBA
Finals stage, and at
times it has shown.
But Curry does have
experience leading these
Warriors. He does have a
track record of carrying
this bunch. Throughout
the playoffs, Curry has
changed the tenor of
every series by putting on
his cape and taking over.
Down 20 in the fourth
quarter of Game 3 at
New Orleans, he led a
comeback with 40 points
and seven 3-pointers as
the Warriors stole hope
away from the Pelicans
in the first round.
Down 2-1 in the
Memphis series, he put
together a gem of a Game
4 with 33 points and
four 3-pointers as the
Warriors surged away
from the Grizzlies.
Up 2-0 against
Houston after two epic
duels with James Harden,
Curry stepped on the gas
and led the Warriors to a
road rout of the Rockets,
scoring 40 on 12-of-19
shooting including 7-of-
9 from beyond the arc.
Curry almost did it
Tuesday night, trimming
19 points off the Cavaliers’
lead in 12 minutes.
Now Curry needs to
do it in Game 4. How?
Step 1: Go after
Dellavedova.
The narrative of this
series is how Cavaliers
backup Matthew
Dellavedova has been
shutting down the MVP.
It’s not entirely true.
The former Saint
Mary’s College point
guard from Australia is
playing good defense,
but he’s getting a big
assist from the Warriors’
insistence on stick-
ing to their system.
Warriors coach Steve
Kerr prefers motion
and ball movement.
Curry is unselfish and
buys into the system,
drawing double-teams
and passing to open
teammates and trusting
them to hit open shots.
The Warriors should
keep the ball in Curry’s
hands and allow him
go one-on-one against
Dellavedova — forcing
the Aussie to defend in
open space in plain view
of the referees. And don’t
let a few good defensive
stands be a deterrent.
Do this all game.
Step 2: Lead the
team emotionally.
Curry isn’t much of a
verbal communicator.
But his mood, his body
language, his disposi-
tion is contagious.
Tuesday, after the
Cavaliers’ lead reached
20, Curry picked up
his head. His frus-
trated demeanor was
replaced with a straight
face and a cold stare.
He came down and
immediately drilled a
3-pointer. Then forced a
steal. Then dropped in
a pull-up jumper, after
which he drew an offen-
sive foul. Then his pen-
etration set up Leandro
Barbosa’s jumper.
In a span of a 1 min-
ute, 34 seconds, Curry
changed the team’s tone.
He forced his teammates
to lock in by suggesting
with his play he would
go it alone if need be.
If Curry is relentless,
the Warriors are relent-
less. If Curry is having
fun, the Warriors are hav-
ing fun. If Curry is fed up,
the Warriors are fed up.
LeBron has the
Cavaliers’ career role play-
ers believing they belong
in NBA history. He has
inspired his teammates
to play above their heads,
convinced them they are
better than they are.
That’s the kind of
emotional leadership
the Warriors could use
from Curry. Of course,
it helps that LeBron has
been to the NBA Finals
six times. But Curry can
have a similar impact.
That’s the burden
of being the MVP.
THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2015 | WEST HAWAII TODAY
SPORTS
2B
Warriors need
Curry to take over
BY MARCUS THOMPSON II
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
James taking his greatness to new
level with NBA Finals mastery
CLEVELAND — The
love that became hate is
love again. LeBron James
is carrying Cleveland on
his back, injecting more
fire into Quicken Loans
Arena with a patchwork
team than the pre-game
pyrotechnics in an unfa-
miliar way no one could
have predicted before the
season began, much less
the NBA Finals. Cavaliers
fans have responded to
him rapping lyrics in
pregame warmups, his
slow motion claps and
mimed bow-and-arrow
celebrations as if James
is responsible for the
invention of flames.
James went to Miami
for a four-year champi-
onship fling but might
have returned for a lon-
ger, more passionate
love affair; a marriage of
choice not convenience.
Cavaliers fans imme-
diately accepted James
back as if “The Decision”
and the departure never
happened — coming
back with that well-craft-
ed letter was really all it
took. James has no need
to remember the boos or
burned jerseys. Neither
side sought forgiveness
and James’s pushing the
Cavaliers the closest to a
title they have ever been
has only strengthened
their odd, conditional
connection.
“I think time heals all,”
James said Wednesday.
“It was a bitter moment
when I left the first time,
but it’s a sweet moment
here now that I’m back.
Both sides had an oppor-
tunity to kind of miss
each other, and they say
if it’s worth having and
it’s supposed to be there,
then it will always come
back.”
Miami was able to
get James at his physi-
cal prime and the height
of his efficiency, but
Cleveland is now expe-
riencing the beauty of a
more determined version
whose mental approach
to the game has reached
sublime levels. James has
mastered the next move
and counter move of the
opposition, can provide
direction and belief for
his teammates, and isn’t
afraid of the sometimes
gruesome
statistical
results of being over-
ly aggressive. Winning
two championships in
Miami has given James
the confidence to under-
stand the galactic reach
of his talents and lead-
ership — and now he
has the Cavaliers up 2-1
against the Golden State
Warriors with Game 4
on Thursday at Quicken
Loans Arena.
The only help James
really needs is from
within and his limited
teammates can feed off
the swagger and aura he
exudes. What remains
of the Cavaliers’ ros-
ter doesn’t have to do
much more than play
hard because James is
playing harder. At the
conclusion of Game 3,
James hunched over
and wrapped his hands
around the basketball
like a football long-snap-
per, energy zapped after
playing all but two min-
utes. James has played
142 of a possible 154
minutes this series and
has no time to hide nor
rest when on the hard-
wood. James’s usage
percentage — a measure
of how often the team’s
offense runs through
him — is a whopping 44
percent, up from 32.3 in
the regular season, when
he had Kyrie Irving and
Kevin Love around.
Three of the four high-
est usage rates in James’s
career have all come in
the past three rounds of
this postseason against
Chicago, Atlanta and
Golden State, with the
only other performance
to crack the list being the
2009 conference finals
against Orlando in his
previous jaunt with the
Cavaliers.
“Everyone knows in
this room he’s an effi-
cient guy, and he has that
attitude going in,” Irving
said. “But for us to be
successful, we just need
him to continue what
he’s doing and have that
killer mindset. Destroy
anyone and everyone
that’s in front of him.”
The Cavaliers are mak-
ing themost of James dic-
tating the offense, with
him scoring or assisting
on 200 of the Cavaliers’
291 points. James has
taken 117 shots to score
123 points in the first
three games this series.
He is the first player with
multiple 40-point Finals
games since his former
teammate,
Dwyane
Wade, had two in 2006.
Jerry West and Michael
Jordan share the record
with four 40-point Finals
games in 1969 and 1993,
respectively, and James
might need to match
that or set a new mark
to deliver a champion-
ship that would arrive
must faster than he
anticipated.
“No one expected us to
be where we’re at right
now— and it’s because of
LeBron James that we’re
here,” teammate Mike
Miller said. “He under-
stands the situation,
which is what makes him
so special. He’s so smart.
What makes him a great
player is he adapts to his
surroundings.”
James’s powers seem
to increase the more the
Cavaliers’ roster is deci-
mated, as if he assumes
the powers of his lost
teammates. Love has his
left shoulder yanked out,
James becomes a more
ferocious rebounder and
occasional power for-
ward. Kyrie Irving breaks
his left knee cap, James
becomes more of a play-
maker, gets to the rim
a little easier and even
borrows his Uncle Drew
costume. After Iman
Shumpert hurt his shoul-
der and returned, James
said, “We just can’t afford
any injuries right now.
We’re already depleted.”
But losing Shumpert
might not be the death
knell for the Cavaliers,
since James would just
add more energy to slow
down Klay Thompson
or Steph Curry — and
regain the ability to grow
a high-top fade.
James is the most
unlikely underdog, since
he has spent so much
time in Miami as the
most dominant force on
an unfairly talented team
that featured two peren-
nial all-stars, including
a former Finals MVP.
Now he is leading a team
that is missing two all-
stars and features an
undrafted second-year
point guard (Matthew
Dellavedova), two rejects
from the New York
Knicks (J.R. Smith and
Iman Shumpert), a for-
mer third-string center
from Denver (Timofey
Mozgov) and player who
got little run in the regu-
lar season (James Jones).
“It’s been a difficult
challenge, a tough chal-
lenge, but I knew that,”
James said. “Being the
sole leader of a team and
a franchise, it’s taxing,
but I accept the chal-
lenge. I accept it all, and
I’m okay with it.”
When Irving went
down, Cleveland was
expected to provide the
same resistance for the
Warriors as brushes at a
car wash, the final shine
on a pristine season. But
the Cavaliers have taken
on a grittier identity that
James readily admits is
“not cute.”
What the Cavaliers
have become, and what
James has been forced to
become over the course
of this season, has made
a beleaguered fan base
in a 51-year title chase
more appreciative of its
prodigal son.
“I’m happy to be back,”
James said. “I know the
fans are excited and exu-
berant about me being
back. Not only just about
me, this team, putting
this team back in the
position where they can
compete and have some-
thing to talk about from
our side, the basketball
side. And it’s been pretty
cool so far.”
Cleveland leads series 2-1
Game 4: Thursday,
3 p.m. (ABC)
NBA |
FINALS
THE KING’S COURT
LEBRON JAMES THROUGH GAME 3 OFTHE FINALS
•
LeBron James has scored 123 points through the
first three games of the NBA Finals, a new record. He
surpassed Rick Barry’s 122 set in 1967.
• Of the 154 minutes of game time in Games 1-3,
James has sat for 12 of them. He has played 142
minutes and six seconds so far.
• James has scored 42.3 percent of the Cavaliers
points in Games 1-3 (123 of 291).
• James (25) has two more assists than the rest of
the Cavaliers combined through three games (23).
BEN MARGOT/
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY MICHAEL LEE
THE WASHINGTON POST
Filling in for injured all-star point guard Kyrie
Irving, undrafted second-year point guard
Matthew Dellavedova, right, has provided big
defense and hustle plays for the Cavaliers
.
TONY
DEJAK/
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry
needs to show why he was named the MVP if the
Warriors want to have a chance in the Finals
.
TONY
DEJAK/
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
