On Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors reached a place the franchise hadn’t in 40 years: the NBA Finals. They did so by dispatching the Houston Rockets in five games, and overcame a few key injuries along the way to do it. Stephen Curry played like his MVP self, and the Warriors weathered a few exceptional James Harden performances to win this series handily. Now, they move on to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers for all the marbles, but first, let’s take a look at how they got here.
“MVP!” “MVP!” “MVP!”
Coming into the western conference finals, the biggest story was the matchup between the league MVP, Curry, and the runner up, Harden. It was a phenomenal matchup at times, but ultimately Curry stole the show. He put up a monster series and led the way, picking up the Warriors whenever they needed him. Curry hit clutch shots, got hot at the right times, and was generally unstoppable. The only time he was slowed down was when he injured himself falling over Trevor Ariza in game four. The injury scare proved just how fragile playoff hopes can be, but he was able to recover and dominate again in game five.
Curry’s performance was exactly what the Warriors needed, and it was exactly what he has been doing all season. Without Patrick Beverley, the Rockets were terribly overmatched at the point guard position. Jason Terry and Pablo Prigioni simply aren’t skilled enough defenders to handle him, and Curry took advantage of that all series. Moving forward, the Warriors will need more of MVP Curry in order to take home the title.
Handling Harden
On the other side, the Rockets and James Harden put tremendous pressure on an elite Warriors defense. Harden had some breakout games, but in key swing games, the Warriors shut him down. Harden struggled in game three, a Warriors blowout win, and particularly in game five, where he set the NBA playoff record with 13 turnovers (curse of Lil B, anyone?) in the series finale. Much of the credit here has to go to Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green for sticking on him and making his life difficult all series.
Sure, Harden had his moments, such as game four when he broke out for 45 points in the Rockets’ only win, but for the most part he played into Golden State’s game plan. With a chance to win game two and the ball in his hands, Curry and Thompsons tripped Harden as time expired. Even in the games his shots were falling, they were tough midrange shots that Golden State was satisfied letting him take. The Warriors’ defense on the league’s MVP runner up allowed them to take this series with relative ease.
The Other Guys
Finally, the Warriors wouldn’t be in this position without the supporting cast that surrounds the league MVP. Thompson may have had an off series by his standards, (and may be seriously concussed), but he did enough to keep the pressure off Stephen Curry. Meanwhile, Draymond Green stepped up on both ends, Andrew Bogut anchored the paint, and even Harrison Barnes stepped up big time in game five. However, the Warriors’ depth doesn’t stop there – in fact, it may actually start there.
The bench played a huge role in clinching this series, and matched Houston’s tremendous bench play when they needed to. Shaun Livingston had a huge game one, Festus Ezeli filled in admirably for Bogut when he got in foul trouble, and Andre Iguodala provided stifling defense and timely offense to lift the bench. Overall, this series win was an all-around performance that is consistent with how the team played all year. This team is no one-trick pony, and they now have a chance to show just how good they can be on the game’s biggest stage.