“I think they smell blood… He’s gonna come there in Boston and play lights out” - NBA analyst believes Steph Curry and the Warriors will finish the job in Game 6, cites the Celtics’ struggles in the clutch
The Golden State Warriors, led by Steph Curry, are backed to finish the Boston Celtics off in Game 6. After winning Game 5, Curry and company are one game away from winning their fourth championship in eight years.
Speaking on ESPN's "First Take," Stephen A. Smith believes that the Warriors are coming into Game 6 smelling blood. The analyst believes that Curry will produce another incredible performance, and Klay Thompson is going to back him up. Stephen A. Smith said:
"They might end this tomorrow night. Let me tell you why - I think they smell blood, I have a very hard time imagining he's (Steph Curry) going to come close to duplicating his performance from Game 5, I think he's going to come there in Boston and play lights for a second game in a row and I don't expect Klay Thompson to disappear.
"I'm gonna tell you, it has to be a blow out for Boston to win this game. If it's close, they're going to lose because I think they're going to be tight as hell."
The Golden State Warriors won Game 5 despite an abysmal shooting night from Steph Curry. They beat the Celtics with the final scoreline reading 104-94 thanks to an impressive performance from Thompson and Andrew Wiggins.
Steph Curry's solid regular season
Steph Curry had a relatively strong season. The two-time MVP led the way for the Golden State Warriors in their pursuit of yet another championship.
He finished the regular season averaging 25.5 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game.
He shot 43.7% from the field and 38.0% from beyond the arc. He also shot 92.3% from the free-throw line and recorded 12 double-doubles, along with two triple-doubles. Curry's defense has also improved tremendously.
However, while shooting 38.0% from the perimeter might seem like a solid percentage, it's a significant drop-off for Curry's standards. He has shot 42.8% from 3-point range in his career.
This could be partly explained by his absurd shooting volume. Curry attempted a whopping 11.7 shots per game from long range.
However, in the 2018-19 regular season, he took 11.7 threes per game and made them at a 43.7% clip. Last year, he took an astounding 12.7 per game and converted them at a rate of 42.1%.
He has had to carry much of the scoring burden as Klay Thompson was still ramping up after a long injury absence. While Thompson has had spurts of brilliance, he didn't find much consistency during the regular season.
Curry also did not have his partner in crime, Draymond Green, for a lengthy spell. The Warriors forward suffered a back injury in early January, returning only on March 14.
Stephen Curry’s stats through 5 Finals games:
30.6 PTS
5.6 REB
4.6 AST
1.8 STL
47-42-83 shooting splits
This is special.
Had Curry led his team to the summit of the Western Conference, he might have had a case for the MVP award. His injury towards the end of the regular season also didn't help.