The NBA Finals are just getting intense with every passing game as the Boston Celtics have defended their home court by winning Game 3 against the Golden State Warriors. It was a match where both teams played well but the Celtics were more physical and used that edge to their advantage.
No prizes for guessing that Stephen Curry ended with another masterclass as he ended up with 31 points game high but the Warriors lost 116-100 courtesy of a very poor fourth quarter. While experts have come up with different analysis on the game, many criticized the performances of Draymond Green who got fouled out and had only two points. Some highlighted the ineffectiveness of Jordan Poole from the bench and the high number of offensive rebounds conceded by the Warriors.
But in the Skip and Shannon: Undisputed podcast, NBA expert Skip Bayless came up with a very brave point. It was strange and brave at the same time. He questioned Stephen Curry’s position in the ‘All-time top 10 NBA players’ list after the performance he dropped in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Warriors lost both the matches when they had horrible fourth quarters. They lost Game 1 in a similar fashion and it just got repeated in Game 3 as they scored only 11 points in the final quarter of the game.
Therefore Bayless is questioning Curry’s presence in this decisive stage where he has not done much in both the games when the game was alive in the fourth quarter. He feels that Curry is having a repeat of 2016 and 2019 NBA FInals against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors respectively.
“Am I the only one seeing what is happening to Steph Curry again and again and again and again? Just as we saw down the stretch of the 2015 going into the 2016 NBA Finals, Steph Curry was all-time, shockingly atrocious; 2019 – all-time, shockingly atrocious without Kevin Durant.
“It happened again last night. I’m having to judge him by the bar you have raised because you made the case going into these finals that Steph is on the verge of being an all-time top-10 player,” Bayless highlighted.
However some people thought it was harsh on Bayless’ part to expect more out of a player who has already scored 31 points along with four rebounds and four assists. He was over 50% from the field and beyond the arc which speaks a lot about his greatness as a shooter.
If the Golden State Warriors manages to sneak in Game 4 in Boston and then with home court advantage wins Game 5 things will take a very interesting turn for the Dubs. If the Warriors by any chance win the Championship, it is confirmed that Curry will take home the Finals MVP, a trophy that is missing in his illustrious cabinet. However there are concerns over his fitness as he looked in pain after sustaining an injury during a hustle play for the ball with Al Horford.
