Stephen Curry has some making up to do

Stephen Curry has to make some things up and there is no doubt that he will.

It’s been a long summer for those of us who identify as Steph Curry stans. His performance in the 2016 NBA Finals has opened the floodgates to all types of slander and hot takes so hot, even Harrison Barnes shooting an ice cold 16% from the field in the finals couldn’t cool down.

I’m serious. The other day I woke up to folks in my twitter mentions trying to make a case for Kyrie Irving being a better point guard than Steph. Other days it’s random people sending me pictures of Kyrie’s 3 point shot over Steph, or vines of Steph’s behind the back pass that went astray.

I can’t imagine the slander we would have to endure had the Warriors not signed Kevin Durant this off-season. It would have been truly unbearable. But you got to especially feel for Curry. Had Donatas Motiejunas had stayed on the bench where he belonged during game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, I probably wouldn’t be writing this article. Hell, Kevin Durant would most likely still be a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Nobody knew it at the time, but the perspiration that left Motiejunas’ body would change the course of NBA history.

Now I’m not going to sit here and make excuses for Steph. He didn’t play well in the finals, and he should be held accountable. But those who say Steph was healthy during the playoffs are either in denial, a hater, a Cavs fan, or maybe even all three.

“Well Curry wasn’t hurt after he proclaimed he was back at Portland!”

I can’t even guess how many times I’ve heard this since June. For those of us who’ve actually played sports in our lives, we know that some days injuries feel better than others. There’s no on/off button for any given injury, it’s not that black and white. Tyronn Lue and the Cavaliers coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for the way they game planned Curry, though. They knew he was banged up and they relentlessly went at him on defense, running him through screen after screen, big body after big body. The amount of punishment coupled with the general wear and tear has to be taken into account when talking about Steph’s historic no show in the finals, but there is no doubt in my mind that Steph will come back with a vengeance in next year’s playoffs.

The most fascinating thing is, people are using Steph’s finals to discredit accomplishments on his resume. He had a 50/40/90 season. He’s a 2x MVP. He was the best player on a 73 win basketball team. Steph probably should have won finals MVP in 2015 as well. All of these accomplishments are from the regular season and should be treated as such. But let’s not pretend like Steph Curry is the only superstar in NBA history to choke on the biggest stage.

Kobe shot 38% in the 2004 finals, as he tried to outshine Shaq and his teammates single handedly shooting the Lakers out of the series against an inferior team (talent wise). Who could forget “Tragic” Johnson losing his mind in the 1984 finals. In game 2 he inexplicably dribbled out the clock in a tie game and lost in overtime. In game 4 he committed a late turnover and missed 2 clutch free throws that would have tied the score. In the 7th and final game he committed a costly turnover with under a minute left in the game, sealing a title for Larry Bird and the Celtics. And allow me to remind those of you who have short term memory loss about Lebron’s 2011 finals performance vs. the Mavericks. Remember game 4 in that series in which he scored 8 points?

In the last 2 seasons, my favorite team has a 2x MVP, 2 championship appearances, one title, and the biggest free agent signing in franchise history. I’m sure 29 other fan bases would do anything to have as successful a 2 year span as that.

Stephen Curry has a lot of making up to do. A lot of haters to shut up. He has to prove himself to those who call him “overrated” or “just a shooter”.

And I 100% believe that he will.