Daily Debate: Who will be NBA Finals MVP?
Barring an NBA Finals comeback unlike one we've seen in recent history, it seems that the Golden State Warriors will be hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy for a second consecutive year. If the Dubs take care of business at home on Monday, the series could be won as soon as tonight.
With the exception of Game 3, Golden State has dominated the series pretty handily -- that's without question. But there is one question hovering over the Finals, now that the result seems more clear: Who will be the MVP?
Last June, after single-handedly willing a depleted Cavaliers team to a sixth game against the Warriors, there was plenty of warranted chatter about LeBron James perhaps taking home MVP honors despite leading the losing team. It didn't happen, though, and Andre Iguodala -- somewhat surprisingly -- came away with the trophy.
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When there hasn't been a clear-cut top performer in the series, common practice among voters is often to give the nod to the winning team's best player. In this case, that would be two-time MVP Stephen Curry -- who has been extremely average -- compared to his standards -- in the Finals.
Through the first three games of the series, Curry had averaged just 16 points per game, shooting a pedestrian 40 percent from beyond the arc. Reports are indicating that Curry will require multiple surgeries after the season, which certainly explains his less-than-stellar output over the four games so far.
But through it all, Curry still deserves Finals MVP honors.
Overall, Curry has averaged 22 points, five assists and five rebounds per game. Backcourt mate Klay Thompson has shot just 40 percent from the field to this point, and Draymond Green won't be participating in Game 5.
Both Iguodala and Harrison Barnes have played well enough to earn vague consideration, but -- barring a massive output from an unlikely source in Game 5 -- the choice is easy after diving into the numbers. Despite underperforming relative to his standards, Stephen Curry should be earning his second MVP trophy of the season by the end of this week.
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