NBA Finals 2017: Stephen Curry Looks For Redemption In Warriors-Cavaliers Rubber Match

Much of the talk in the 2017 NBA Finals has been about LeBron James’s quest to eclipse Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player ever and Kevin Durant’s search of his first title. Stephen Curry has taken somewhat of a backseat in terms of storylines, but the point guard also has something to prove in the rubber match between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was just a year ago when it looked like Curry might be the best basketball player in the league. James has held that distinction since the start of the decade, but two straight MVP awards, including the first-ever by unanimous decision, injected Curry into the conversation.

Then the finals happened.

READ: Ranking The Best Players In The 2017 NBA Finals

As the best player on the best regular-season team the NBA has ever season, Curry was part of the biggest collapse in league history. The Cavs became the first team to come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the finals, and James reminded everyone that he was the greatest athlete in all sports today.

Curry put up a mere 17 points on 19 shots in the deciding Game 7, committing four turnovers and dishing out just two assists. His overall numbers in the seven-game set weren’t exactly bad, but his 22.6 points on 40.3 percent shooting, 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game were a far cry from what NBA fans had become accustomed to seeing.

Not only was Curry not the best player on his team against the Cavs--that honor belonged to Draymond Green--but he wasn’t even the top point guard in the series. Kyrie Irving outplayed Curry in the finals and hit the biggest shot of the series down the stretch in Game 7. Curry came up short when Golden State needed a basket, and his inability to score against Kevin Love in the game’s final minute was the perfect microcosm for his struggles.

Of course, Curry wasn’t 100 percent healthy in that series, having returned from a knee injury that he suffered in the first round of the playoffs. Still, he didn’t miss a game against Cleveland and failed to score 20 points four times. Playing through the same injury in the conference finals, Curry scored 27.9 points on 44.3 percent shooting.

The 2015 NBA Finals was a much better showing for Curry. After winning his first MVP award, the point guard averaged 26 points on 44.3 percent shooting in the six-game series.

Curry played well en route to his first title, though he didn’t win the finals MVP award. Andre Iguodala received the majority of the votes, and James was probably better than Curry in the losing effort.

How will Curry perform in his third shot against the Cavs? His play in the first rounds suggests it should be his best finals yet.

With Durant missing two postseason games, Curry has been Golden State’s most valuable player. He leads the team with 28.6 points per game, and he’s shooting 43.1 percent from behind the arc. Curry certainly didn’t need a 10-day layoff before the start of the finals, having averaged 31.5 points on just 19.5 shots per game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Curry and Durant aren’t scoring as much as they used to, but playing among so many All-Stars has allowed them to be incredibly efficient. While Curry and Klay Thompson had their issues against Cleveland a year ago, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for the Cavs to contain either of Golden State’s top scorers this time around.