Stephen Curry needs a big Christmas Day
Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP, struggled in Game 7. He needs a big game on Christmas Day to silence some of his doubters.
The last time a lot of casual basketball fans got to see Stephen Curry play basketball, he was at the end of a long season on one knee. He had returned early from an MCL sprain and was playing against his third consecutive elite point guard. He struggled in the biggest game of his career.
Curry had just 17 points, had the game-winning shot taken over him, and he couldn’t get the space he wanted away from Kevin Love. LeBron James was blocking his shot left and right and he fouled out in Game 6 and hit a fan with his mouthguard. It wasn’t the unanimous MVP’s best moments.
Steph Curry is the best point guard in the NBA. It doesn’t matter how many triple-doubles Russell Westbrook gets, how many double-digit assist games Chris Paul records, or how many points James Harden’s team scores. The two-time MVP earned those awards because he is the best at what he does.
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He’s taken a backseat thus far. He’s still having a really good season, but it’s a lot quieter than his last two MVP campaigns. While his numbers have dipped, his value is just as high and his talent level remains out of this world.
There was a lot of talk after the NBA Finals about Curry’s play. Some people wanted to trust a three game sample more than a 160 game sample. They genuinely accepted the notion that he forgot how to play basketball as a more plausible explanation than the fact that a knee injury slowed him down.
Twitter, the cells in which the biggest prisoners of the moment reside, was full of irrational folks trying to rationalize that Kyrie Irving is better than Curry because he hit the game-winner. It was an amazing shot and Irving had a fantastic last three games in the series, but that doesn’t mean he’s a better player. It just means he had a better stretch of games.
Curry has a lot of doubters now. There are relatively valid ones–like those who point out his careless turnovers. Then there are the Stephen A. Smiths of the world who say crazy things about him for ratings.
He needs to silence them. He needs to “make that old.” Now, he can’t completely do that until June, but it starts now. A big game on Christmas would be huge for him.
Irving hit the biggest shot in NBA history in his face on his home floor. Curry needs to strike back. Kevin Durant has been absolutely incredible for Golden State and he’s been the best player on the team this year. It’s still Curry’s team and he needs to remind everyone just how special he is.
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Completely outplaying Irving and James in a Christmas Day victory would be a good start for Curry in regaining his rightful place at the top of the league. Many are looking for reasons to knock him off the top and some believe his Game 7 performance is enough to do so.
Admittedly, he missed more important shots and committed more crucial turnovers in the 2016 NBA Finals than Westbrook or Paul did, but then again, those guys didn’t play. With two MVPs and a ring, Curry is already one of the all-time greats. He’s one of the most unique and skilled players to ever step on a basketball court.
He is one of the best now and all those Internet trolls that want to say Irving is better need to be silenced. Christmas is his first chance to do so. A huge game isn’t just welcomed, it’s needed.
For his sake.