So Bogut missing Game 7 is used against the Cavs, but Love missing Game 3 is not use.

[Dray n Klay]

used ... against the Warriors as an injury excuse?



Seems like a double standard.

[warriorfan]

Steph Curry1 and Golden State's three best defender's were either injured or out of commission. (Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut)

Kyrie was a huge loss for Cleveland in 2015. However Kevin Love missing in 2015 was not as big of a hindrance some would think.

If you remember, while both teams were at full strength, Cleveland got blown out twice in a row in games 1 and 2. The first turn of the tide was in game 3 where Cleveland secured their first win, without Kevin Love playing a single minute (Game 3 of the 2016 Finals)

At the end of the 2016 Finals, Kevin Love averaged only 8 points a game on 47% True Shooting (Statistics of the 2016 Finals). And these numbers were also boosted due to the fact that Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut were out of commission due to suspension and injury.

Basketball is a game of matchups and Kevin Love has proven himself to not be effective against the matchups that a healthy Golden State team produces.

So due to the ineffectiveness of Kevin Love against Golden State due to matchup problems, Golden State of 2016 was more depleted than the Cleveland team of 2015. (Golden State's best player was compromised. Golden State's best defender missed a crucial close out game. Golden State's rim protector missed 1 and a half games. Golden State's best perimeter defender and previous year's FMVP was extremely disabled for at least one game, more likely two.)


References:
1.
[QUOTE][I]Stephen Curry is reportedly not playing at 100% health, and it may explain why he has struggled to find his MVP form

[b]The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Curry

[jstern]

What about the 2015 Finals. No Love or Irving, but it can't be used as an excuse.

[warriorfan]

What about the 2015 Finals.

Steph Curry 2015 Finals Stats

26/5/6/2/ [COLOR="Green"]59%[/COLOR]

Perhaps the most critical segment of this series came at the end of the third quarter of Game 4, Cleveland cutting the Warriors lead to three. The Q was rocking. The Finals hung in the balance.

Curry calmly called for the ball, shook a defender and drained a three, pushing Golden State to a six-point lead. In a reversal of roles, a gassed LeBron tried to answer with a three of his own at the buzzer, only to miss badly. When James went to the bench to rest at the start of the fourth quarter, the Warriors seized control of the game and the Finals.

Curry finished with 22 that night. He then dropped 37, including 17 in the fourth quarter, in Game 5. On Tuesday, he dropped a couple of massive threes to help stem a fourth-quarter Cleveland surge, then when double-teamed, hit a wide-open Klay Thompson for another.

[quote]
[I]Not only did Curry average an MVP-like 26 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 43 minutes per game, but as Kerr told his point guard, sometimes a point guard has to put his own game now in favor of managing the game for his teammates.
That is what Curry relayed when he said in the postgame press conference, "The Finals are not that different from normal NBA games. It's just the spotlight is different, and soar are the expectations. When you have an average game, you find out in the Finals that people were expecting more. But really, that stuff doesn't matter. It's all about winning. That's what I've learned. I just need to impact games, be myself every other night, do other things to help my team win and be OK with that. Manage the game from a point-guard standpoint, find a way to win and that's what we did

[TheWinningFam]

Irving also injured his foot in game 6 and was playing hurt, yet they never bring this up.

[scuzzy]

[COLOR="Blue"]Andre Iguodala[/COLOR] - A perfect example with poor skillset at staying healthy

Just the past year [COLOR="Blue"]Andre[/COLOR] has battled with pulled hamstring, ankle swelling and a sore back

Here [COLOR="Blue"]Iguodala[/COLOR] is laying down with a minor sore back after having to guard Lebron James for 6 games in a row.



Not uncommon though - Just the past 2 playoffs, several players guarding Lebron weren't skilled enough to take on his physicality and power
1. [COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Demarre Carroll[/COLOR]
2. [COLOR="Blue"]Andre Iguodala[/COLOR]
3. [COLOR="Red"]Loul Deng[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Blue"]Andrew Bogut[/COLOR] - The leagues most injured player next to [COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]Andrew Bynum[/COLOR] and [COLOR="DarkRed"]Greg Oden[/COLOR]

[scuzzy]

The ankle injury effected Steph Currys game none whatsoever

[COLOR="Red"]His next game and following series versus the Houston Rockets, Steph perfomed at an elite level[/COLOR]



[COLOR="Blue"]The following 7 game series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder he again performed at a spectacular level[/COLOR]



[COLOR="DarkRed"]And as we all know, in the Finals, Curry just couldn't live up to the two previous series when he faced the Cleveland Cavaliers[/COLOR]



Infact, by looking at his past 3 Playoffs, 2016 Curry was right on par in nearly every category with his 2014 and 2013 Playoffs

In conclusion we see that

1. Steph is injury prone and has a long history of sprains with multiple surgeries
2. Steph's fragile ankles wouldn't allow him to stop on a dime/keep up with [COLOR="Red"]Ariza[/COLOR]
3. Steph had bad court awareness after seeing [COLOR="Red"]Montie[/COLOR] fall and drove right through a wet spot, tweaking his knee
4. Multiple sources say it was a grade 1 MCL, 2 weeks fully heal, "he was lucky"
5. Steph came back from injury and played 9 games averaging [COLOR="Blue"]31, 8, 7, 48%fg[/COLOR] before playing Cleveland where he struggled at [COLOR="DarkRed"]22, 5, 4, 40%fg[/COLOR]
6. Steph is a sub par Playoff and Finals performer compared to his regular season standards
7. GSW front office signed Durant as insurance, specifically banking on Steph's next upcoming injury

[warriorfan]

wouldn't allow him to stop on a dime/keep up with Ariza

Here is a cilp showcasing Curry's lateral quickness and ability to cut and change direction explosively before the MCL injury



These types of plays were routine for Steph Curry before he injured his MCL

[scuzzy]

The ankle injury effected Steph Currys game none whatsoever

[COLOR="Red"]His next game and following series versus the Houston Rockets, Steph perfomed at an elite level[/COLOR]



[COLOR="Blue"]The following 7 game series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder he again performed at a spectacular level[/COLOR]



[COLOR="DarkRed"]And as we all know, in the Finals, Curry just couldn't live up to the two previous series when he faced the Cleveland Cavaliers[/COLOR]



Infact, by looking at his past 3 Playoffs, 2016 Curry was right on par in nearly every category with his 2014 and 2013 Playoffs

[kamil]

Warriors choked. With or without Bogut or Dray, they had more than enough firepower in them to close out the series... 3 chances in fact.

Embarrassing.

[nba_55]

The ankle injury effected Steph Currys game none whatsoever

[COLOR="Red"]His next game and following series versus the Houston Rockets, Steph perfomed at an elite level[/COLOR]



[COLOR="Blue"]The following 7 game series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder he again performed at a spectacular level[/COLOR]



[COLOR="DarkRed"]And as we all know, in the Finals, Curry just couldn't live up to the two previous series when he faced the Cleveland Cavaliers[/COLOR]



Infact, by looking at his past 3 Playoffs, 2016 Curry was right on par in nearly every category with his 2014 and 2013 Playoffs

In conclusion we see that

1. Steph is injury prone and has a long history of sprains with multiple surgeries
2. Steph's fragile ankles wouldn't allow him to stop on a dime/keep up with [COLOR="Red"]Ariza[/COLOR]
3. Steph had bad court awareness after seeing [COLOR="Red"]Montie[/COLOR] fall and drove right through a wet spot, tweaking his knee
4. Multiple sources say it was a grade 1 MCL, 2 weeks fully heal, "he was lucky"
5. Steph came back from injury and played 9 games averaging [COLOR="Blue"]31, 8, 7, 48%fg[/COLOR] before playing Cleveland where he struggled at [COLOR="DarkRed"]22, 5, 4, 40%fg[/COLOR]
6. Steph is a sub par Playoff and Finals performer compared to his regular season standards
7. GSW front office signed Durant as insurance, specifically banking on Steph's next upcoming injury

[warriorfan]

.

Stephen Curry is reportedly not playing at 100% health, and it may explain why he has struggled to find his MVP form

The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Curry — who missed four games earlier in the playoffs with a right knee sprain — was still beaten up physically.

"He's playing at 70 percent, at best," a source close to Curry told The Vertical. Curry refuses to make excuses, but we see something — no explosion, no ability to make the bigs switching onto him pay a price.

.

Curry had a lack of lateral quickness and ability to change direction because of his MCL injury1, this was highlighted when he was unable to get separation from big men during switches when usually he is automatic in that situation

Here is a clip of healthy, Pre-MCL Injury Curry showcasing his excellent lateral quickness and change of direction





It is plain as day that Steph Curry was not healthy in the 2016 Playoffs after he suffered the injury to his MCL


References:
1.

The MCL is one of four ligaments connecting the femur bone to the tibia at the knee. It helps keep the knee stable as it moves from the outside to the inside.

So the lateral movements are going to put pressure on the ligament.

Athletic trainers refer to what’s called a “valgus” position — that’s when the knee is turned inward toward the center of the body, and the MCL stretches to keep the joint stable.

Most people naturally stand in a slight valgus position, meaning they are putting a little pressure on their MCL without even trying. Playing basketball just adds to that stress, especially during quick lateral movements

“That valgus position occurs pretty often in basketball,” said Meredith Petschauer, an exercise and sports science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “because what you have to do in basketball all the time is plant your foot and turn in a different direction.”

https://www.statnews.com/2016/06/02/...inals-science/

[Uchmanmamba24]

Is the OP ret@rded? Cavs won Game 3, remember fool??

[Prometheus]

It's amazing how thoroughly scuzzy owns warriorfan. Total domination

[warriorfan]

It's amazing how thoroughly scuzzy owns warriorfan. Total domination

Scuzzy's logic is highly flawed

According to Scuzzy's logic, Michael Jordan's "Flu Game" never happened. Since Michael Jordan scored 38 points, that is proof that he did not have the flu!

Of course we know that sort of logic is absurd. Michael Jordan did have the flu and he scored 38 points despite suffering from an illness.