10 Keys in Order for Cavs to Take Down Warriors in 2017 NBA Finals

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3. Win the Point Guard Battle

Kyrie vs. Steph

How epic was that 3-pointer that Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving drained over Warriors point guard Steph Curry in the final minute of Game 7 of last year’s Finals? That is a monumental play Cavs fans can watch over and over again for the rest of eternity.

It’s very likely that Curry has been waiting to get his revenge now for almost a year, so expect the back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player to light up the scoreboard with his sharpshooting and stellar ball-handling skills.

Although Curry’s regular season stats for 2016-17 have regressed in every category compared to last season, Irving will undoubtedly still have to play his best basketball in order to keep Golden State’s superstar point guard in check throughout the 2017 NBA Finals.

2016-17 Regular Season Per-Game Statistics Comparison

Player Season G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PTS
Stephen Curry 2016-17 79 33.4 8.5 18.3 .468 4.1 10.0 .411 4.1 4.6 .898 4.5 6.6 1.8 0.2 3.0 25.3
Kyrie Irving 2016-17 72 35.1 9.3 19.7 .473 2.5 6.1 .401 4.1 4.6 .905 3.2 5.8 1.2 0.3 2.5 25.2

In this year’s Western Conference Finals against the Spurs, Curry was outstanding on both ends of the floor. During the four-game sweep of San Antonio, Curry averaged 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.0 steals per game, including a whopping six steals in the Warriors’ pivotal 120-108 road victory over the Spurs in Game 3.

2016-17 Playoffs Per-Game Statistics Comparison

Player Season G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PTS
Stephen Curry 2016-17 12 34.3 9.3 18.4 .502 4.4 10.3 .431 5.7 6.3 .907 5.5 5.6 1.9 0.3 3.3 28.6
Kyrie Irving 2016-17 13 34.8 8.8 19.0 .466 2.4 6.7 .356 4.5 4.9 .906 2.4 5.6 1.4 0.5 2.5 24.5

In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, Irving had himself a beast of a performance as well. As the high-scorer in Cleveland’s crucial 112-99 win over Boston, Irving looked unstoppable en route to 42 points (15-of-22 from the field, 4-of-7 from three-point range and a nearly perfect 8-of-9 from the charity stripe) to go along with four assists and three rebounds in 41 minutes of action.

“You’ve got to relish in the competition,” Irving said after practice on Monday. “The players that we’re going against, I mean, this is what everyone wants to see and this is what we all want to be a part of. I’ve been waiting. We had the regular season, we had the playoffs, and we’ve been tested. Both teams. And now we just meet at the top of the mountain. It’s just a duel for one successor, one failure, and I can live with those odds. So we all just leave it out there on the floor.”

Grab your popcorn ready, basketball fans. This is going to be yet another point guard matchup for the ages.

Next: Go Hard in the Paint


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Andrew Salmi is a recent graduate of California State University, Fullerton after he previously attended Arizona State University. He is proud to be a staff writer for Cavaliers Nation. You can follow him on Twitter @andrewsalmi.