2019 NBA FINALS PREVIEW
WARRIORS VS. RAPTORS
A vital element of Stephen Curry’s legacy is that Curry doesn’t give a rat’s rear end about Stephen Curry’s legacy. He’s so great he doesn’t care how highly rated he is.
So Curry’s input will not be involved in this discussion about how important these NBA Finals will be to his legacy. I would not insult him by asking, “Do you need an NBA Finals MVP award on your resume in order to be elevated to your rightful place in the basketball pantheon?”
Besides, I already know the answer, which is “Yes, he does.”
Curry shouldn’t need a Finals MVP to get full cred as an all-time great. And let’s be honest, even if he scores 40 points a game against the Raptors and blocks 15 Kawhi Leonard shots, some people aren’t going to give it up for Curry because he’s too cute, he chews his mouth guard and he shimmies.
We’re speaking here, then, to the sane and reasonable basketball world, and that world needs a Finals MVP performance from Curry to go all-in on his transcendent greatness.
In fairness, Curry already should have that box checked. He was edged out for the award last season by teammate Kevin Durant. I have zero quarrel with Durant winning by a narrow margin in the media vote, but I gave a slight edge to Curry, based on his overall leadership and his 3-point shooting (22-for-53, .415).
In the 2015 Finals, the first Finals for this Warriors group, Curry was edged by Andre Iguodala for MVP. Again, a super-worthy choice, but Curry came up big: 26 points per game (with 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds) over six games, when the Cavs schemed their entire defense to stop him, by hook or crook.
Why do some experts and critics still withhold ultimate greatness from Curry? He has back-to-back league MVP awards, including the firstever unanimous vote. But the season he was the unanimous MVP, the Warriors lost in the Finals (he was playing injured), and legacies are made in the playoffs, especially in the Finals.
There’s a lot of nitpicking and numbers-pushing that goes into these debates, but this Finals truly is Curry’s time to slam-dunk the cherry onto the hot-fudge sundae of his legacy.
That opportunity has presented itself in the form of Durant’s calf injury. It doesn’t matter for purposes of this discussion whether or not the Warriors are a better team without Durant. What matters is that with Durant out for at least Game 1 on Thursday, and maybe for the entire series, Curry will be the focus of the Toronto defense, and if he sustains his play at the level of greatness, and leads the Warriors to victory, that will be a major statement.
This isn’t just about Curry and the Warriors showing the world they don’t need Durant to win another title, although that would be great for Curry’s cred. It’s also about Curry demonstrating his (and the team’s) ability to cope with, and rise above, drastic changes, losing their best player.
The Warriors play a way different game without Durant, offensively and defensively, and to weather such an abrupt loss of such a great player this deep in the playoffs is very tricky.
So far, Curry is making a strong case for himself, even though that’s not his goal. The Warriors are 5-0 since losing Durant, and Curry has sizzled, starting with the series close-out game in Houston when he abused the Rockets in that 33-point second half.
The Warriors’ sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the West finals was a brilliant showcase for Curry. In fact, that performance is hereby nominated for Best NBA Individual Playoff Performance Ever.
It was a sweep, but sweeping Portland was a B-word of a task for the Warriors. In three of the games, they came back from deficits of 17 points or greater. Curry played 39.7 minutes per game and averaged 36.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and shot 42.6% on 3-point attempts.
And this is a man who, for some reason, seems to have been saddled with the rep for underachieving in the playoffs. That seems like an absurd label, but haters gonna hate, doubters gonna doubt. He could set a lot of those folks straight.
Curry’s legacy isn’t on Curry’s radar. It’s an intriguing discussion topic that quickly will be swept aside in the heat and intrigue of the Finals.
But Curry’s performance will be important, because wherever the Warriors go over the next two weeks, he will take them there. It’s legacy time. Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler