Stephen Curry said he and and his Warriors teammates need to dig deeper and fight harder to expect success in Game 4.
To win an NBA championship, the Warriors will have to leave everything on the court. Blood, sweat, and tears.
The problem is, they haven’t done it yet, and they are down 2-1 in the NBA Finals.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said his team lacked life. Not what a coach should be saying after Game 3 of the Finals.
Effort, energy and intensity are often talked about by NBA players and coaches, but aren’t always on display as much as pure talent.
That changes in the Finals, when every second of every possession counts, and the Cavaliers are putting on a clinic of what it means to put everything on the line, to leave it all out on the court.
Even Draymond Green, the guy Steve Kerr calls the heartbeat of the Warriors, said Cleveland has so far looked like the team who wants to win:
“I’m not sure why. But it’s definitely the case. They’re playing like a team desperate that needs something. And we’re playing like a team not desperate that’s got something, and that’s not the case.”
Green added that it was the Cavaliers who clearly has the intensity, something the Warriors found, but it was too late:
“Who’s got a 50‑50 ball? Who dove on the floor? (Matthew) Dellavedova. Who dove on the floor for the loose ball? Dellavedova. Who dove on the floor? Mike Miller. I mean, that’s three right there. That’s three loose balls. That’s the possibility of six more points.”
That’s a good point, especially since the Warriors’ two losses have been decided by five points or less.
The face of the Warriors and league MVP Stephen Curry didn’t necessarily agree with Green, but said there was definitely more that the Warriors could do:
“I wouldn’t say we’re not fighting, but we could fight more … We’ve definitely got to fight a little bit harder, and being down 2‑1, you’ve got to pull some extra stuff up out of you to try to get a win next game.”
The same can’t be said for the Cavaliers, who have dropped like flies and the ones that are left are completely emptying their tanks.
LeBron James, who said himself he can only be expected to play around 41 minutes of Finals-level basketball, is averaging 47 minutes a game while receiving around-the-clock treatment and visibly hurting after every game.
Dellevedova, wasn’t available to the media after Game 3 because he was taken to the hospital, suffering from dehydration and cramping. He even said himself he gave every thing he possibly could.
Yet, the Warriors are still saying that they can give more. The Warriors need to hurry up and start playing Finals basketball with all the intensity, effort and energy they can muster, before it’s too late.
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Last modified June 18, 2015 2:41 am
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