Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 4 vs. Cavaliers

2. Durant’s floor, not ceiling, wins him second Finals MVP

For three out of the four games in this series, Curry was the Warriors’ best player. He hit big shot after big shot in Game 1, he set an NBA Finals record with nine made 3s in Game 2, and in Game 4, he made seven more triples, to go along with three steals and three blocks.

It follows to assume that therefore, Durant’s second-straight Finals MVP is exclusively a result of his Game 3, in which he scored 43 points on 23 shots, added 13 boards and seven assists, hit one absurdly deep 3 after another, and carried the Warriors to a thrilling road win.

In reality, Durant won the award due to his Games 1, 2 and 4. Whether it was his 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists in Game 1, his 26-9-7 in Game 2 or his triple-double in Game 4, Durant was spectacular even when he was average.

By contrast, Curry struggled mightily in Game 3. He went just 3-of-16 from the field, and had an even plus/minus in an eight-point win. Durant’s plus/minus was better than the final margin in every game, and he finished the series +86 — nearly double Curry’s +47.

Most Warriors fans and followers were rooting for Curry to come away with his first Bill Russell trophy. He was unselfish and underrated during his first two title runs, and he finally broke through as an individual scoring force this time around. There is an argument to be made that, as the best player in all but one game, he deserved it.

However, even in Curry’s three dominant games, the gap between he and Durant was extremely small. In Durant’s one dominant game, the gap was massive. That’s why he finished the series with 28.8 points per game on 65.4 percent true shooting, and Curry had 27.5 points per game on 56.0 percent true shooting.

One bad night may have cost Curry Finals MVP, but one great night did not win it for Durant. Four very good ones did.