The 2015 NBA Finals matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers features the league’s MVP, Stephen Curry and perhaps the world’s best basketball player, four-time MVP LeBron James.
On Tuesday, Warriors TV analyst, Jim Barnett of CSN Bay Area, appeared on FOX Sports Ohio and talked about the series and how he would stop the Warriors if he were coaching the opposing team.
“You have to understand these guys are great shooters,” Barnett said on the air. “If you can keep them out of the open court, you have a chance. I would say their most dangerous scorer is, obviously, Stephen Curry, and I would try to play him very physically. I would grab, hold, do anything I could to get away with it.”
Barnett talked about how the two marquee players in this series, James and Curry, will have to find a way to get it done with a target on their backs.
“The great ones find ways to score,” Barnett said, “Stephen Curry is averaging over 29 (points) a game in the playoffs. And this is where usually the scoring goes down. This is where he is a marked man, there’s a target on his back, and it’s very very difficult to find shots.
“There is no one who is going to shut down Steph Curry in this series and there is no one who is going to shut down LeBron James. Now Lebron James may shut himself down if he has a bad shooting night. Steph Curry may have a bad shooting quarter or two but he rarely has bad shooting games.”
Earlier in the week, James was asked a similar question about how to slow Curry down. His answer was simple.
“Well, the same way you slow me down,” he said. “You can’t.”
This postseason, Curry is averaging 29.2 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 43.7% from three and 46.1% overall. James on the other hand, is putting up an average of 27.6 points and 8.3 assists on 17.6% from deep and 42.8% overall.
As far as the series as a whole, Barnett was adamant about this series not being a quick one.
“This is going to be a long series. I’d be surprised if it doesn’t go seven games. There’s no sweep in store for anybody. It’s not going to end in five games, and it’s probably not going to end in six.”
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @tobyellis86)
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