7. Steph vs Kyrie
To say that Irving dominated Curry in last year’s NBA Finals would be an understatement. Even more than his game-winning shot in the do-or-die Game 7, Irving was on top of his game throughout the entire series. When it was Curry going up against him, the Cavaliers’ point guard absolutely made the then two-time reigning MVP look silly.
When all was said and done, Irving averaged 30.8 points and shot 47 percent from distance in the final five games of the series. Meanwhile, a hobbled Curry would lay a complete egg in Game 7 — shooting 6-of-19 from the field with four turnovers. Some will say that the knee injury Curry suffered earlier in the postseason played a role here, but that would be a cop out. He was simply vastly outplayed by his counterpart in Cleveland.
Though, the 2017 NBA Finals come at a time that Curry has recaptured his MVP form. He’s averaging 28.6 points while shooting at an absurd 50 percent from the field in this year’s playoffs. That’s led to a downright scary .622 effective field goal percentage. If Curry continues at that that level, the Finals will be a relatively short series.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, its defense continues to be a major black eye. When a team like Indiana can average 109 points in a series against the Cavaliers, that spells major trouble having to contend with what the Warriors offer on offense.
So even more so than what he brings on offense, Irving has to step up his defensive game. J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert are going to have a heck of a time against Klay Thompson. As we mentioned above, Kevin Love doesn’t necessarily match up well with Draymond Green. If Cleveland has to throw double teams Curry’s way, it will give other members of the Warriors wide-open shots to drain. That would be a less-than-ideal scenario for the three-time defending Eastern Conference champs.