With Critics Poised to Pounce, Steph Curry to Experience True Test of Greatness
OAKLAND, Calif. — If you were standing on the court at Oracle Arena 90 minutes prior to tipoff of Game 2, minding your own business, not suspecting the spectacular, not noticing the throng gathering and gawking near the tunnel, you would be forgiven for thinking that the ball had just fallen from the sky, as if dropped by a higher power with innate knowledge of the exact coordinates of the net.
But when it rippled through, and when the roar began, you had to know the origin. It came, of course, from the wrist and creativity of Stephen Curry, on a perfect arc and the first try, from an impossible angle and some 70 or so feet away.
You couldn't possibly know then, though, that this would be the highlight of his evening, one upon which, symbolically and statistically, the reigning league MVP was the one who fell from the sky.
That's not to say he won't soar again, after shooting 21.7 percent from the field, his lowest of the season; after missing more shots (18) than in all but one game in his NBA career; after committing six turnovers, including two in overtime; and after his team lost 95-93 to the undermanned Cavaliers and fell into a 1-1 tie in the NBA Finals.
That's not to say that Curry, a workaholic who rarely deviates from routine, won't quickly find his form, the form that had Warriors consultant and former Lakers great Jerry West, during a Sunday morning interview on Bleacher Report Radio, referring to the Warriors guard as at least equal to any shooter or shot-maker he's ever seen.
That's not to say that we won't someday, maybe as soon as Tuesday, look upon this night, a night on which Curry said nothing felt quite right, as but a blip, an outlier for one of the league's most outstanding, one of those necessary stumbling blocks upon which a champion eventually stands.
"Everybody struggles to shoot sometimes," teammate Draymond Green said. "And he had a tough night."
It was inevitable that it would occur because it has for all the greats at some point in an NBA Finals, whether it's Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant or even the raging contemporary currently on the other side, the 50 minutes of fury named LeBron James.
"I've seen it with everybody," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who won five rings as a player, in support of some of the all-time elite. "I've seen it with Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan. It doesn't matter who you are. Nobody is immune from a tough night."
And none of them, not even the demure Duncan, have been immune to the corresponding criticism. But when they've come up against that, they've shown their colors in the way they come out the other side. So it will be fascinating to see what comes next—whether Curry can shake off his shaky performance in the white-hot spotlight, whether he will crack even slightly as the media and public chip away and whether he can keep his shine as the golden child.
After all, with the exception of some early skepticism about his professional transition and concern about his brittle ankles, Curry has enjoyed the rare charmed NBA existence, beloved by the Bay, appreciated by the rest of America, someone West called "a unique brand for himself and also for the NBA. I wouldn't hesitate to say that he might be the most popular player in the NBA today."
That's in part because he's the embodiment of the everyman.
"He's a player that you look at him, you say, 'Well I'd like to play with him on a playground,'" West said. "He doesn't look like your typical NBA player. But he's rare."
Curry doesn't talk or act like the typical NBA player, either, especially not an NBA superstar. He is the antithesis, in fact, in terms of arrogance, an attitude that has served James, Jordan, Bryant and others of their ilk well, but that also has exposed them to greater expectations and criticism. His family name is respected in the NBA, as much as any other, but he would never crown himself royalty.
"There's something about him, if you're around him, he's very infectious, in terms of 'My gosh, this is the nicest kid I've ever been around,'" West said. "And particularly with the success he's had this year; it does not seem in any way, shape or form, to have changed him in any way. And a lot of players who become big stars in this league, their persona changes and it makes it very difficult for some of their teammates to warm up to them sometimes. And I always call it professional jealousy, because we do see that throughout sports."
Indeed, there was nothing but support from Curry's teammates Sunday, whether it was Green or Klay Thompson or Andrew Bogut, who didn't dismiss the defensive effort of his countryman Matthew Dellavedova—someone he recently complimented as a "gritty a-----e" to play against—but also added he was "confident if Steph gets those same looks next game, he'll knock them down."
Curry did get plenty of decent looks, but the Cavaliers should also get plenty of credit. Even though the now-injured Kyrie Irving did some of his best defensive work before fracturing his kneecap in Game 1, the Cavaliers still believed they had coddled Curry too much, as he made half of his 20 attempts for 26 points.
"We're gonna make him feel us," one Cavalier said. "He didn't feel us."
That meant involving him in more actions on the defensive end, so he couldn't hide and rest. And it meant jostling him more on offense, with fill-in starter Dellavedova subjecting Curry to as many bumps and grabs and tugs in Sunday's first quarter as in all of Thursday's breezier affair.
Still, it was stunning to see Curry miss eight of nine uncontested shots, even as he made a circus layup.
Odds are that Curry will knock down more of his open looks Tuesday. But between now and then, he'll get knocked more than has been the norm—and not for something silly, like the times he's brought his energetic, amusing daughter, Riley, to the podium.
This is what happens, to everyone, even the everyman, especially when the everyman ascends, unexpectedly, to the top.
How will he handle it?
When asked prior to Game 2, Bogut said he believed Curry would be fine in the face of public scrutiny, citing the injury issues: "He was down about it. People writing his career off, saying his ankle is never going to be the same, he's never going to be a big-time star, and look what he's done. So, Steph, I don't think he buys too much into that stuff. I think he reads it. It motivates him, but I don't think it affects him too much."
Warriors assistant Luke Walton, son of a Hall of Famer and former teammate of stars such as Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, acknowledged that public opinion can quickly turn on top players, from building them up to breaking them down. "It does," Walton said. "He'll handle it fine. The person he is, he doesn't let that stuff get to him. He knows what's important in life, and that's his family and that's his career and his health. He doesn't let that type of stuff get to him. But he hasn't had that same type of negativity and people trying to bring you down that Kobe and LeBron have had. But I think if he ever did, he'd be all right with it."
Even if the public expectation is currently perfection, in terms of how Curry carries himself on and off the court?
"Yeah, but I don't think it bothers Kobe or LeBron, either," Walton said. "It is what it is. If you're that good, it's natural that people want you to fail. That's the way, for whatever reason, this world is. I know Kobe is all right with it, he thrives on it."
Curry won't face anything quite like that here. He's not at the stage where most are rooting specifically against him, even if they are rooting for the Cavaliers.
But the questions?
Yes, they'll come.
Questions about whether he was the correct choice for MVP, while James is maniacally pushing the squad on the other side, clearly driven in part by what he saw as a snub. Questions about whether his unconventional style, featuring long (often quick) shots and sometimes loose handles, is ideally suited to lift a team to a title. Questions about whether, after all the collegiate and professional success, he's finally met a moment that can overmatch him.
If it seems as if James has been in these moments forever, that's because he has, for more than one-third of his life. He's been in the vortex even longer, subjected to all the scrutiny that comes from calling yourself "King."
And so it was that James was asked between Games 1 and 2 if he could relate to the pressure Curry must now feel as the MVP and, as the questioner casually put it, "the face of the league."
There was no way that last part would sit well, even with all his regard for Curry as a person and player.
"I don't think there's much pressure on him at all," James said. "I think he's had an unbelievable season. Got the MVP, rightfully so. Led his team all year long ... He has a great team. But I think he just goes out and plays. I don't think anybody has put too much pressure on him to do anything besides what he's been doing all year."
The subtext of that is that there's not much pressure on him compared to me.
And that, in almost every case, is accurate.
But maybe not now. Maybe not after Sunday. Maybe not after all the misses and mistakes. Maybe not after allowing Dellavedova, an undrafted player with tenuous NBA status, to hold him scoreless on eight shots while guarding him.
"Shots I normally make, I knew as soon as they left my hand that they were off," Curry said. "That doesn't usually happen. I mean, mechanically, I don't know if there is an explanation for it, just didn't have a rhythm and didn't find one the whole game. I'm not going to let one game kind of alter my confidence."
Nor his mood, either, apparently, not after his press conference, certainly not with Riley on his back as he re-entered the Warriors' dressing, training and meeting quarters. Curry was already dressed for the night, wearing white sneakers, army pants and a wide smile as Riley babbled from behind his ears.
But one more setback like Sunday, when his star falls because his shots won't, and not even camouflage will keep critics from finding him.
Ethan Skolnick covers the NBA for Bleacher Report and is a co-host of NBA Sunday Tip, 9-11 a.m. ET on SiriusXM Bleacher Report Radio. Follow him on Twitter, @EthanJSkolnick.
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