Reminder: Cavaliers beat the Warriors, Warriors didn't beat themselves

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Warriors fans live in constant fear that NBA superstar Stephen Curry will get injured

Almost half his NBA career Curry has been battling some type of injury

And when it happened in the 2016 NBA Playoffs, no one was suprised

As some may not know, Stephen had seven ankle sprains and 2 surgiers in a 16-month period

Because of his historical amount of ankle sprains/surgeries, he has unusually slow lateral quickness and struggles with stopping on a dime

Lets recap why he got himself injured:

- Curry gambled on Ariza when he tried a full court press and was blown right by instantly - Montiejunas trips and falls - Curry sees this in the corner of his eye

https://s31.postimg.org/vsgepifrv/curry1_5.png

- Curry tried forcing Ariza to go right - Ariza goes up for the pump - Curry struggles to stop and at the same time slips on sweat because he lacked awareness where he was on the court

https://s31.postimg.org/gxrtbc66z/curry3.png


*The Golden State Warriors got lucky when it was announced that Stephen Curry only had a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his right knee after taking a scary fall in the playoffs*.

*Had Curry, say, torn his MCL, he would likely be out for the rest of the playoffs*.

*Having faced that possibility, the Warriors are now more determined to chase Kevin Durant as insurance, according to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News*.
http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-curry-injury-warriors-chase-kevin-durant-2016-4

The injury effected his game none whatsoever

His next game and following series versus the Houston Rockets, Steph perfomed at an elite level

https://s31.postimg.org/981kjrh3v/curry3_5.png

The following 7 game series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder he again performed at a spectacular level

https://s31.postimg.org/exht42na3/curry4.png

And as we all know, in the Finals, Curry just couldn't live up to the two previous series when he faced the Cleveland Cavaliers

https://s31.postimg.org/z656psml7/curry5.png

Infact, by looking at his past 3 Playoffs, 2016 Curry was right on par in nearly every category with his 2014 and 2013 Playoffs

https://s32.postimg.org/bsdxd1t5h/curry8.png


In conclusion we see that
1. Steph is injury prone and has a long history of sprains with multiple surgeries
2. Steph's fragile ankles wouldn't allow him to stop on a dime/keep up with Ariza
3. Steph had bad court awareness after seeing Montie fall and drove right through a wet spot, tweaking his knee
4. Multiple sources say it was a grade 1 MCL, 2 weeks fully heal, "he was lucky"
5. Steph came back from injury and played 9 games averaging 31, 8, 7, 48%fg before playing Cleveland where he struggled at 22, 5, 4, 40%fg
6. Steph is a sub par Playoff and Finals performer compared to his regular season standards
7. GSW front office signed Durant as insurance, specifically banking on Steph's next upcoming injury

[scuzzy]

Lebron James fractured his wrist during game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals
"Most distal radius fractures take 4-6 weeks to heal."

The play happened as Lebron went up for the series winning dunk

He was contested by Warriors FMVP Draymond Green

https://s31.postimg.org/czuunblej/lebron3.png

The 2 collided with James falling 10 feet in the air helpless and bracing himself with only his right hand

https://s31.postimg.org/w2e8a8wez/lebron1.png

Cavs players, bench and staff all came over because they knew instantly what they witnessed was career ending in most cases

https://s31.postimg.org/ppz30etcr/lebron2.png
https://s31.postimg.org/josnvd6dn/lebron4.pnghttps://s31.postimg.org/gj8255nrf/lebron5.png


Astonishingly he was able to briefly recover and play on the rest of the game. With 12 sec left on a 1 possession game, he drew a foul and was sent to the line. Shooting on that same right wrist that was fractured, remarkably he sunk the game winning shot.

https://s31.postimg.org/j22hdt9uj/lebron55.png

Despite playing a 73-9 team at full strength (minus their Center who avg 12 min with net negative -14).

Injured James was still able to execute a triple double on the opponents home floor

27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

[scuzzy]

Draymond Green's temper tantrums spilled into the 2016 Playoffs

https://s32.postimg.org/4ut8ry3hx/draymond2.jpg

The Warriors leader and arguably best player ranks #1 in most fouls

In 2015-16 season, Draymond was #3 in the league in Technical fouls

The previous season (14-15), Draymond was #6

https://s31.postimg.org/4murk98qj/draymond_6.png

Green, who went into the playoffs saying "I will try to limit any discussions with referees to avoid racking up technicals" couldn't hold back and continued to throw up his arms in disgust for nearly the entire playoffs

It all started where he racked up 2 techs in the Rockets series, following with 2 more techs in the Portland series

Draymond was treading a fine line, where 7 technicals get you suspended for a game.

But things started to only tumble worse

-First it was the flying knee to Steven Adams groin
https://s31.postimg.org/hlw43vpe3/draymond5.jpg
-This unsportsmanlike blow caused the media/fans to take note of Draymonds actions under a microscope. No tech/flag was called as one should of been

-The following game later, a brutal kick to Adams groin, again
https://s32.postimg.org/4w36ld5bp/draymond3.jpg
-While everyone thought he would receive a flagarant 2 and be ejected, he didn't. The NBA the following day ruled him with a Technical foul for his actions.

A foul is considered flagrant when it involves excessive or violent contact that could injure the fouled player. A flagrant foul may be unintentional or purposeful
-Along with many more Groin attacks with no consequences
https://s32.postimg.org/euo57uer9/draymond4.jpg
-Green was up to 5 techs going into the Finals

-Finals, Game 4, Green intentionally threw a punch at Lebron James, again in the groin
https://s32.postimg.org/nlv623y2d/draymond_6.jpg
The fans, media, NBA had no choice but to take action on such unsportsmanlike behavior

Green was given a more than necessary Flagarant and by rule due to many technical fouls, was suspended 1 game.



When Kevin Love was injured for his concussion in gm5, Lebron James stepped up to carry the load and lead his team to a win

When Draymond was out, Stephen Curry failed to carry the load and lead his team to a blowout loss on his homecourt

Following the Finals, Green was arrested on assault charges for getting into a fight with a college student. Again unable to keep his cool


In conclusion:

1. Draymond Green is one of the top dirties players in the league and continues with his actions year after year
2. Green, regardless of suspension threat, makes bad decisions on/off the court
3. Has a loud mouth, constantly taunting other players and getting away with it
4. The league continued to give Green passes in the OKC series so they wouldn't lose (knowing that Draymond is the best GSW player)
5. Green let his team down when he received his flagrant, knowing that Curry couldn't lead a team past Cleveland by himself

[scuzzy]

Lebron James has never missed a playoff game for any reason. 42.5 MPG/182 games in playoffs

https://s31.postimg.org/63dobqrob/injury6.jpg

How is this possible when the opposing team is guarding James with 1-2 of their toughest defenders?

Not to mention, Lebrons game is built on driving to the basket getting whacked in the face, elbowed and tripped. Or in the post banging against power forwards and centers 20-40 pounds heavier.

Because staying healthy on the court is a SKILL

Lebron focuses on IN-GAME IMPACT DRILLS

"In September, I was doing three-a-days, five days a week."

"I will take all the pain that comes with competing for a championship at the end of the day," "I'll take all the bumps and bruises that I get when I'm playing because I know that I left it all out on the floor."
Andre Iguodala - A perfect example with poor skillset at staying healthy

Just the past year Andre has battled with pulled hamstring, ankle swelling and a sore back

Here Iguodala is laying down with a minor sore back after having to guard Lebron James for 6 games in a row.

https://s32.postimg.org/sst2zr83p/injury3.jpg

Not uncommon though - Just the past 2 playoffs, several players guarding Lebron weren't skilled enough to take on his physicality and power
1. Demarre Carroll
2. Andre Iguodala
3. Loul Deng

"The physicality, toughness and enurance it takes to guard Lebron in a 7 game game series is overwhelming" - Anonymous NBA superstar
Andrew Bogut - The leagues most injured player next to Andrew Bynum and Greg Oden

https://s32.postimg.org/ec5tl6imd/injury5.jpg
https://s32.postimg.org/mixtcr8p1/injury4.png


LeBron’s 42.5 minutes per game during the playoffs is the highest of any active player and the 10th-most all-time

James’ ability to remain healthy and productive despite a heavy workload must have opposing coaches feeling like Ivan Drago midway into his bout against Rocky Balboa in Rocky

Top Current star NBA players durability from best to worst

https://s31.postimg.org/fdm44ailn/injury1.png

Top Hall of Fame NBA players durability

https://s31.postimg.org/svt0gkuqz/injury2.png

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http://i67.tinypic.com/1zlt9aw.png

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Despite the 3 catastrophic injuries the Cavaliers faced in the Finals

They adapted to the adversity and players stepped up

Just how much setbacks did they have?

Kyrie Irving- In April he injured his ankle late in the first half of Friday's overtime win at Atlanta. Had soreness and swelling throughout the entire playoffs

Finals game 6, worst nightmares came true

The injury happened in the third quarter, as Irving was running one of his many pick-and-rolls with Tristan Thompson. Warriors center Festus Ezeli stepped on Irving's left foot while attempting to keep the ultra-quick point guard from getting into the paint.

https://s9.postimg.org/4jhimnshr/kyriefoot2.png

He scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half. After his injury he was just 1-of-6 from the field in the second half.

https://s9.postimg.org/v205vdr7j/kyrie_foot.png

Post game pictures of Kyrie's ankle

https://s9.postimg.org/fa5vozngv/kyriefoot3.png

Despite such an extreme injury which takes 2-3 weeks to heal, Irving went out to play 43 minutes of game 7 and contributed with 26 points and 6 rebounds. A much better statline than his opposing point guard (Stephen Curry) averaged all series.

Head to Head Irving dominated Curry on both ends (note: Irving guarded Curry and Curry never guarded Irving)

Curry - 22ppg, 40%fg, 40%3pt, 929ft, 4 reb, 3ast, .9stl, 4.3TOV

Irving- 27ppg, .46%fg, .40%3pt, 93%ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 2 st, 2TOV

https://s10.postimg.org/5baprc83t/kyrie_game_winner.gif

[scuzzy]

Kevin Love suffered more injury time during the Finals than both Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut combined

Harrison Barnes purposely gave Love a stage 4 concussion after an elbow to the head during the Cleveland Cavaliers' 110-77 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA Finals
As Love went up for the rebound, Barnes went over his back and deliberately threw an elbow to the Occipital Lobe of Kevins Love's brain.

https://s9.postimg.org/npf1lia7z/klove1.png

https://s9.postimg.org/lwc4x6p1b/klove_2.png

https://s9.postimg.org/5871bwegv/klove3.png


How big of an impact was this injury?

Playoff performance before the elbow- 17pts, 10reb, 3ast, 40%fg, 45%3pt

Finals performance after the elbow---- 6pts, 5reb, 2ast, 33%fg, 21%3pt (slightly worse than 16' Kobe)



Concluding that Kevin Love's injury had more negative impact to the Cavaliers team than all if "any" setbacks that the Warriors had



Stage 4 concussion symptoms which altered his performance-

https://s9.postimg.org/xblzbk3rj/klove4.png

Furthermore, Love possibly was battling CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy after the atrocious attack by Barnes.


Mohammad Ali developed CTE after years of boxing concussions (like the one Love obtained) which further led to Parkinsons

https://s9.postimg.org/lmisrnc4f/klove6.jpg

Leading to this

https://s10.postimg.org/4i9yh6osp/klove7.png

[scuzzy]

Kerr:

[QUOTE][B]Steph didn

[scuzzy]

Bron and Kyrie: 149 drives, 62 free throw attempts

Steph and Klay: 69 drives, 55 free throw attempts