{"id":2372,"date":"2016-06-17T13:34:57","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T17:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=2372"},"modified":"2019-06-26T16:50:58","modified_gmt":"2019-06-26T20:50:58","slug":"the-nba-finals-is-upside-down-so-lets-just-enjoy-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=2372","title":{"rendered":"The NBA Finals Is Upside Down, So Let’s Just Enjoy It"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nothing easy… we’re going to Game Seven baby! \u00a0Game Seven! GAME SEVENNNNNNNN! – Zaza Pachulia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I’m going to say something I never thought I’d say. \u00a0It took a long time to get to this point, but since we’re here, I might as well tell the truth.<\/p>\n

I give up trying to figure out these NBA Finals. \u00a0The twists, the turns, the mouthpiece tosses. \u00a0I really don’t know how Game 7 will go and I’m still trying to figure out how we got here. \u00a0It’s not worth it to sort out the particulars of the first six games of this series because the Finals actually makes less sense to me when I do.<\/p>\n

But we can at least try to decipher the first six games and look ahead to Sunday night’s Game 7. \u00a0The key word: try.<\/p>\n

For one thing, we’ve found our Finals MVP. \u00a0Ironically, it’s the same person that should’ve won the award<\/a> last year: LeBron James. \u00a0He’s actually leading every statistical category in this series, as noted by ESPN Stats and Info:<\/p>\n

\n

LeBron James leads everyone in everything … literally pic.twitter.com\/gvhXehdaDV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 17, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

James has so clearly been the best player on the floor in this series. \u00a0Moreover, no player on the Warriors has distinguished himself nearly enough to wrest the award away from him, and that holds true even if Golden State wins Game 7. \u00a0If you’re only watching the Finals and didn’t follow the regular season, you would think that LeBron was the unanimous MVP and not Steph Curry. \u00a0That’s saying something.<\/p>\n

And there’s more bad news for the Warriors. \u00a0Andre Iguodala, last year’s Finals MVP and primary LeBron defender, suffered a back injury in last night’s game<\/a>. \u00a0While he’s definitely going to play on Sunday, his health may be the difference in the game. There’s another thing I never thought I’d say.<\/p>\n

And Iguodala’s injury has other ramifications, too. \u00a0The Warriors are already thin in the frontcourt, with Andrew Bogut out for the Finals with a knee injury. \u00a0Without his minutes and the normal services of Iguodala, players like Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes would likely have to spend more time guarding James.<\/p>\n

Green may be able to hold his own, but the bigger question mark is Barnes. \u00a0After I wrote<\/a> about how Barnes would need to play better for the Warriors to win a championship, he promptly had the worst game of his life in Game 6. \u00a0Barnes went for 0 offensive rebounds, 0 assists, and 0 points last night. \u00a0This is hard to do (especially as a starter), but the legitimately did nothing on the offensive end of the floor. \u00a0So who knows where his mind is right now.<\/p>\n

Yet another issue for the Warriors comes from an unlikely source: Steph Curry. \u00a0The back-to-back MVP struggled with foul trouble in Game 6, fouling out for the first time this season. After his sixth foul, he had this memorable reaction. \u00a0He would assuredly like to forget it:<\/p>\n