Key to Golden State Turnaround? Attitude not aptitude

By: Raashaan Myers

    

     League MVP Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors find themselves on the wrong end of a 2 games to 1 deficit after 3 in this NBA Finals. The team that was the runaway #1 team in the NBA pretty much from start to finish has looked anything but vs LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to this point in the series. So for the second time in these 2015 NBA playoffs there are a ton of people questioning whether Steph and the young Warriors have what it takes to get it done in their first Finals appearance?

      Well as I have watched so far in the Finals I have seen a hobbled Cleveland Cavaliers team that has no business playing this well in this series taking it to the favored Warriors. How did this happen? Well the answer is very simple yet still fascinating. The unquestioned alpha male of the NBA King LeBron James. While LeBron’s tangible stats have been amazing posting averages of 41 pts, 12 rebs, and 8 ast per game through 3 games. More important has been the psychological impact he is having on the rest of the Cavs. LeBron has his teammates playing not only as if they deserve to be there, but as if they should be the favorites to win it all. It is amazing to see the confidence guys like Matthew Dellavadova and Timofey Mozgov are playing with right now.  This guys are out there putting caution to the wind and leaving it all out here on the court every night. So much so that Dellavadova needed emergency IV treatments after 38 grueling minutes in a tough fought Game 3 victory.

     So can the Cavs keep it up and complete one of the most improbable title runs in NBA history? Well that depends on the Golden State Warriors. This collection of brash young superstars have run roughshod over the league all season now finds themselves looking nothing like their uber confident selves.  Is the stage too big? Are the lights too bright? While I do think the moment has been a bit much for the Splash Brothers and company I slowly see signs of the team that won 67 games in one of the greatest regular seasons in NBA history. While Cleveland has dominated most of the minutes with their slowdown style of play the amazing 4^th quarter performance in Game 3 by Steph Curry as well as the emergence of David Lee from Steve Kerr induced purgatory tells me that the Warriors are ready to right the ship.

      So now the key is for Steph Curry to carry the momentum from that 4^th quarter and start off Game 4 with the same activity and aggressiveness. The Warriors as a whole have allowed the aggressiveness of the Cavaliers defense really discourage them attacking and playing Golden State basketball and it all starts with the MVP. If Curry can get it going early then the same confidence to his Warrior teammates King James has instilled in his troops. THEN it’s game on! I think clearly Golden State is the deeper more talented team and if they coming out and play their exciting free flowing brand of basketball they will turn this series around quickly en route to their 3^rd NBA title and 1^st since 1975. Now the question is will they get it done? I guess we will have to wait and see Thursday night in Cleveland.