2016 NBA Finals: 5 Things To Know Heading Into Game 7

3. Curry Hasn’t Stepped Up, But Still Deserved Unanimous MVP Honors

There’s no better place for hot takes than the NBA Finals, and now that the Cavs have rallied from their 3-1 deficit to tie the series, here’s the most popular one you’ve probably had to endure: We’re finally seeing who the best player in the NBA is. Steph Curry didn’t deserve MVP. The league MVP is choking.

To sum up: Give me a f***ing break.

There’s no denying that Curry has been a disappointment during this playoff run. After putting together perhaps the greatest offensive season in NBA history, his postseason numbers have significantly dipped, especially on basketball’s grandest stage in the Finals:

• Regular season:  30.1 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.4 RPG, 2.1 SPG, 3.3 TO, 2.0 PF, .504/.454/.908 shooting
• Postseason:  25.6 PPG, 5.4 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 4.2 TO, 2.1 PF, .445/.413/.915 shooting
• Finals:  23.5 PPG, 4.0 APG, 4.8 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 4.3 TO, 3.5 PF, .419/.424/.926 shooting

But to say Curry is choking or that he didn’t deserve unanimous MVP honors — which is a nonstarter since that’s a regular season award anyway — would be completely ignoring context.

That context is important when it comes to the greatest shooter in NBA history who hasn’t looked the same since his MCL sprain in the first round of the playoffs.

He’s had his moments where he’s gone off, like his 17-point overtime against the Blazers, his epic Game 7 to put the Thunder away in the conference finals, or his 38-point explosion in Game 4 of the Finals.

But an MCL sprain isn’t an injury you just shake off in a little over a month. Curry at his peak has still been the same Curry we saw all season long, but injuries don’t rob players of their peak performances; they rob them of their consistency.

It’s also worth noting that comparing Curry’s numbers to what LeBron James is doing right now is a fool’s endeavor. Chef Curry suddenly doesn’t deserve his MVP trophy because LeBron James just put together two of the greatest all-time performances in NBA Finals history?

That’s the exact kind of ass-backwards, faulty logic that so many people applied for years to LeBron himself — you know, until this series reminded everyone that, Hey, you know what, LeBron James is still really f***ing good!

People forget, but King James was taking a ton of unnecessary flak as recently as last week when the Cavs fell behind 3-1. Despite averaging 24.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.8 blocks per game through the first four games, James was hammered for not being assertive enough on offense, for not playing at a Herculean level, for not transcending the sport itself.

Now Curry is catching the same criticism, even though it took LeBron averaging a 41-12-9-3-3 stat line over the last two games to transform everyone’s outcries from “He’s not doing enough!” to “OMG LEBRON LET ME BEAR YOUR CHILDREN!”

Curry has only been the best player on the floor in one game this series, and he’ll have to show up in Game 7 for his team to go back-to-back. If he does, everyone without the short-term memory loss of Curry’s brilliance over the last two seasons will enjoy the collective whiplash of hot takes reverting from heavy criticism to unending praise.

But even if he doesn’t, getting outplayed by one of the 10 greatest NBA players of all time while dealing with a nagging knee injury is hardly indicative of a “choke,” especially after witnessing undeniable greatness for two straight years.

Next: No. 2