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Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Closing Out The Finals

By Gerald Bourguet

Jun 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; (editor note: caption correction) Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; (editor note: caption correction) Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) handles the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter in game five of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Survive The MVP Battle

The role players could have a big impact in Game 6 and, ultimately, the outcome of the 2015 NBA Finals. But at the end of the day, this series will be won and lost on the backs of two men: LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

So far in this series, we’ve seen James put up the kind of numbers befitting a king: 36.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists in 45.6 minutes per game. He’s done it because the Cavs need that kind of superhuman effort from him on a nightly basis. He’s shooting under 40 percent for the series, but he’s putting up such a high volume of shots because the Cavs need him to. If he’s not taking all those shots, who would?

Unfortunately for the Cavs, LeBron’s otherworldly numbers haven’t guaranteed them victory; all they’ve guaranteed is that the Cavaliers will be in the game. Three times this series we’ve seen LeBron put up an unholy stat line only for the Warriors to win anyway. In other words, if King James ever has an off night in this series (which he won’t), the Warriors will win easily.

But in the games where Curry has struggled, the Dubs have managed to win anyway. Game 5 was Curry’s signature moment of the Finals so far, but the Dubs had won two games before that where Curry wasn’t putting on an MVP-caliber exhibition. The Dubs are deeper and more balanced to the point that they don’t need to depend on their MVP the way that Cleveland completely leans on theirs.

However, we’ve seen LeBron carry his team to victory by himself twice in this series, so if the Warriors want to match the King’s desperation in Game 6, they’re going to need another big game out of Curry (and preferably Klay Thompson as well).

Curry is not going to outplay LeBron James at any point in this series, but if he can match him blow-for-blow like he did in Game 5 and just survive the MVP battle, the Warriors will be holding the Larry O’Brien trophy on Tuesday night.

Next: 2015 NBA Finals: Game 5 Recap

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