Marcio Jose Sanchez/APStephen Curry hasn’t heated up yet in the NBA Finals.
There aren’t many positive signs for the Cleveland Cavaliers after the Golden State Warriors blew them out 110-77 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have played sub-par basketball, Kevin Love may be out with a concussion, and the bench has not produced.
Even worse for the Cavaliers: they may not have seen the Warriors’ best basketball yet because Stephen Curry hasn’t been himself.
Through the two games, Curry has just 29 combined points on 11-26 shooting. ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy pointed this out during Game 2, saying, “Think about the combined points that [Curry] has in these first two games. That’s not even a good night for him in one night.”
Van Gundy then added, “And [the Warriors] have still been able to win and win handedly.”
Van Gundy is right — Curry averaged 30 points per game on 50% shooting in the regular season and 25 points per game on 44% shooting in the playoffs. Thus far in the Finals, his numbers have been far below his own standards. Curry shot an efficient 7-for-11 in Game 2, but still wasn’t his normal, dominant self, and he only played 25 minutes due to both foul trouble and the Warriors’ massive lead.
The Warriors have beaten the Cavs twice, fairly easily, without Curry at his best. The Warriors’ role players likely won’t play as well in Cleveland in Games 3 and 4, something Steve Kerr noted before the series, but Curry is more than capable of heating up and taking over on the road.
The series is not over for Cleveland — they could return to Cleveland, rediscover their mojo, and even up the series.
But they should certainly feel concerned, especially with the Stephen Curry explosion still waiting to happen.