The Celtics went dormant on offense just as Steph Curry came alive

In fact, it was going to be the query everyone led their post-Sport 4 commentaries with, whether or not it was on tv or Twitter or [insert podcast name here]. That’s what we do when an athlete delivers a historic efficiency: we instantly have to check it to the opposite occasions they’ve carried out one thing historic, or rank these performances, or say why this one wasn’t higher, but it surely was undoubtedly extra necessary.

It’s a vicious cycle we undergo as followers; as a media that evolves, however actually hangs on its identical founding pillar when it comes all the way down to it (that pillar is the ability rankings train, in fact); it’s even one thing gamers lean into when requested about, providing up soundbites that both deflect or feed the narrative. It’s straightforward, and it’s profitable. Why cease now?

It’s particularly straightforward when the topic of the controversy is Steph Curry, and his most up-to-date efficiency — a 43-point, 10-rebound, four-assist eruption to hold the Warriors to a 107-97 win over the Celtics and tie The NBA Finals at 2-2 — is undoubtedly one of the best he’s ever put forth on this stage. Neglect the outings with LeBron and Kyrie or Kawhi and Lowry on the opposite aspect of the aisle; they don’t examine.

“I feel most likely #1,” Klay Thompson stated postgame. “I imply, this was almost a must-win recreation, and to go on the market and shoot as effectively as he did, and seize 10 rebounds they usually have been attacking him on protection… Steph performed unimaginable.”

Draymond Inexperienced provided extra of the identical: “He wasn’t letting us lose. That’s what it boils all the way down to.” He later added, “[He] put us on his again. Willed us to a much-needed win. He got here out and confirmed why he’s among the finest gamers to ever play this recreation and why this group has been in a position to trip him to a lot success. It’s completely unimaginable.”

Steve Kerr, as he tends to do, provided the sagest punctuation of all of them: “Simply beautiful. Boston has one of the best protection within the league. For Steph to take that stress and nonetheless be capable to defend. I feel that is the strongest bodily he’s ever been.”

On Friday evening, Steph Curry morphed right into a kind of supercharged shot-making drive in contrast to we’ve ever seen from him on this stage. And that’s saying one thing. His gaze sharpened. He yapped a bit extra liberally, each on the officers and the opposing crowd. His pictures fell with the identical kind of clean ease they at all times have, but it surely felt completely different on this recreation — like there was no likelihood they weren’t going to drop; like something Curry hoisted was hardly a perhaps, however a assure. It was the best efficiency of his Finals profession, an inventory not many different gamers can say requires true consideration. This effort — not simply his finest, however some of the dominant within the historical past of the championship spherical — instantly vaults to the highest. As if he even cared.

“I can’t fee my performances,” Curry stated. “Simply win the sport.”

Truthful sufficient. The numbers, and the way they matched the second, will do it for him. It was the seventh time in his playoff career that he has scored at least 40 points, and probably the most he’s ever had in a win — a stat so fake-sounding I ran it 4 occasions simply to verify. Within the second half alone, Curry put up 24 factors on seven-of-11 from the sphere, together with five-of-six on 3s. He went nuclear, as they are saying. It doesn’t matter what the Celtics’ league-best protection threw at him, he wasn’t going to be stopped.

That’s the factor: the Celtics threw loads at Curry, typically sticking with him via dribble and shimmy after dribble and shimmy. However sticking with the best shooter within the historical past of the game doesn’t at all times imply deterring him, and generally (learn: a number of the time), defensive stress is the least of Curry’s worries.

“Among the 3s he hit have been extremely contested and you may’t do something about these,” Ime Udoka famous postgame. Of Curry’s 26 shot makes an attempt, I counted 18 of them as effectively contested, and eight as poorly contested. Of his 14 makes, eight have been effectively contested, and 6 poorly contested, although primarily as a result of Curry strikes round like a hummingbird and, often, you’ll be able to’t assist however not follow a zippy organism that darts round for a dwelling. It checks out.

“We have been there,” Marcus Sensible added. “He’s an ideal participant; he made pictures. He made a number of the pictures the place we have been contesting from behind. We had someone there and he was simply making them. That’s what he does. We clearly need to do a greater job of limiting that.”

Right here’s the issue, although: tightly contesting Wardell Stephen Curry and tightly contesting, oh, I dunno, Andrew Wiggins, are two very completely different duties. With a participant like Jimmy Butler, and even one like Jordan Poole, typical defensive protection will typically serve you effectively. Good, authorized contact with the physique and a hand in his line of sight will do the trick.

Defending Steph Curry is extra akin to the time The Avengers-slash-Guardians of the Galaxy mishmash of super-people tried to take away the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos’ hand in Avengers: Infinity Conflict. They actually needed to stun him, hypnotize him, grasp maintain of every of his limbs, and have three of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes™ tug on the Gauntlet without delay. It nonetheless didn’t work.

A lot of the chatter all through final evening’s recreation was about who could be the participant to assist Curry carry the offensive load. Frankly, it wasn’t a lot that the Warriors wanted to make life simpler for Steph by taking up a scoring burden, however as an alternative making his scoring alternatives simpler to come back by. Steph obtained 48 on-ball picks in Sport 4, his highest clip of the season, and his highest mark since Game 5 of the 2017 Finals. (He completed with 34 factors and 10 assists in that one, the clincher over Cleveland.) Certain, notable contributions did come from Wiggins (17 factors and 16 rebounds), Klay Thompson (18 factors), and Jordan Poole (14) on Friday. However Steph is Steph. He pours on this kind of efficiency as routinely as most of us commoners roll away from bed.

However the biggest asset to Steph’s manufacturing might need, mockingly, been Boston’s lack of manufacturing on their very own offensive finish, particularly down the stretch. The Celtics seemed fueled and ready to counter any attainable onslaught to begin the sport, with Jayson Tatum pulling down a number of early triples, Jaylen Brown attacking the basket with a objective, and Robert Williams as soon as once more delivering an energetic performance akin to what he offered in Game 3. However because the evening wore on, regardless of the house group sustaining its defensive stress, the Celtics have been unable to reply within the least offensively. After coming into halftime with a five-point cushion, Boston’s offensive withered within the second half, like flowers making an attempt to remain alive in a sauna.

Boston was on the unsuitable aspect of a 17-3 Golden State run to shut the sport. And whereas your first thought could go to the variety of factors they allowed throughout that barrage, what ought to stick out is how ghastly their offense seemed down the stretch, thus rendering them unable to stay with the Warriors it doesn’t matter what they introduced defensively. They are saying one of the best offense is an effective protection; maybe the worst protection is an offense that may’t hit water if it fell out of a ship.

Following a Marcus Sensible triple with 5:18 remaining and the lead at 94-90, the Celtics made only one shot, lacking seven of their remaining eight makes an attempt, six of which got here from past the arc. Which, fairly truthfully, is perhaps probably the most damning stat of the evening: with the sport nonetheless inside attain, the Celtics turned nearly solely reliant on three-pointers, taking up the “get all of it again in a single shot” strategy that teenage AAU groups get taken to the woodshed for. Golden State went on a 10-0 mini-run throughout that point — not precisely of the identical ilk because the bigger 17-3 run, however when countered with poor shot choice from the Celtics, it was finally sufficient to place a bow on the sport.

Within the fourth quarter, Boston made seven of their 21 shot makes an attempt, and 4 of their 13 tries from three. They have been outrebounded 16-6; the Warriors snatched as many offensive rebounds because the Celtics did complete within the remaining body. In some way, Boston solely recorded three turnovers, however with the variety of pictures they missed down the stretch, it would as effectively have been 20. It was a pure unraveling, a nine-point loss that flipped the sport on its head, for all intents and functions.

“We did get some good pictures off,” Udoka stated, “however we wish to get a bit of bit extra downhill and get some issues to the rim and kick out.”

Again and again, it appears as if these Celtics beat themselves to the purpose of final frustration and, fairly frankly, complete confusion. Wanting again on this postseason, irrespective of the way it pans out, will include a aspect of a palm to the brow and a wholesome serving to of Tylenol, plus the overarching feeling of, “couldn’t it have been simpler?” If it’s any comfort, the gamers themselves are simply as annoyed. Tatum stated postgame, “We don’t do that s#$% on objective. I promise you, we don’t. We making an attempt as onerous as we will.” Udoka chimed in, too, noting, “We needed to do it the troublesome method… We’ve carried out it earlier than. Maintain your head up and let’s go get one on the street.”

Friday evening’s collapse felt prefer it got here on the blades of a novel and instantly deadly double-edged sword. Not solely did the Celtics fail to cease a universe-defying scoring menace, however they fell wanting the pedestrian activity that’s, merely put, making their pictures. Certain, generally they will’t all fall — if they might, we’d dwell in a world of 246-239 video games (we’re on our solution to that already). However when it appears as if each shot is pressured, ill-advised, or launched in an not possible effort to cut back an 11-point deficit to 2 throughout the span of a single three-point try, it’s onerous to not see fairly plainly the place the issue lies. It’s a fixable one. It’s additionally one for the Celtics that, at this level, represents life or demise on this sequence. Particularly when the group’s incapability to make pictures comes up in opposition to one of many biggest performances in NBA Finals historical past.

Whereas Steph Curry wasn’t working solo amidst Golden State’s 17-3 run that finally killed the Celtics in Sport 4, his go-ahead three-pointer to push the Warriors forward by six with below two to go was maybe the harshest blow. It wasn’t probably the most consequential shot to drop throughout that stretch, but it surely pushed the knife deeper into an already gaping wound. Maybe it’s finest to explain that shot as a reminder that success for Curry can at all times loom reverse your worst failures, even when it isn’t continually current as they unfold.

That appears to be a development to date on this sequence. If it persists, the sequence might instantly grow to be a fast one.