The Grip - MON 5.21.18

Steph Curry is inevitable 

May 21, 2018

5.21.18

S.E.: If it feels like there hasn’t been a close game in forever, that’s because there hasn’t been a close game in forever. All six conference finals contests have been decided by 13 points or more. The last NBA game decided by 10 points or fewer was on May 9. 

Written while listening to Typical Cats’ self-titled album Typical Cats [

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No. 1 Houston vs. No. 2 Golden State

Game 1: Warriors 119, Rockets 106Game 2: Rockets 127, Warriors 105Game 3: Warriors 126, Rockets 85 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 4: Rockets @ Warriors, Tuesday, 9 p.m. EST, TNT

Steph Curry is inevitable

The only thing worse than being tied with the Golden State Warriors at a game apiece heading to Oracle Arena is being tied with the Golden State Warriors at a game apiece having largely avoided the wrath of Steph Curry. He is the sun, if only the sun had a day or two off. He is tee-ball against the computer in Backyard Baseball. He is the American dreamer, shaking off the rubble every morning. He is the Wheel of Fortune, except 90 percent of the slots are labeled STEPH’S ABOUT TO GO OFF.The Rockets spun twice and got lucky -- they bottled him up. Call it injury. Call it two straight bad games. Call it good defense. But remember to call it rare. Because Steph Curry is inevitable.  (Lose-Lose Pt. 1: Harden crowds Curry and Curry nails a three)The two-time MVP and two-time champion -- one of nine NBA players who can boast that resume -- pinged back to life in the third quarter for a game-high 35 on 26 in the second half and five made threes. (James Harden finished with 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Every Houston played was a double-digit minus.)The natural reaction from NBA folks hoping for a good series is to complain that the Warriors are tipping the scale too much, that lining up four of the 20 best on one team is unfortunate, bad T.V. Sports are supposed to be ultimate reality. The Warriors are sometimes like watching a bored zoo tiger eat captivity’s version of a T.V. dinner. [READ: The Rockets’ best defense against the Warriors is a great offense]It’s certainly a point well-taken -- we’ve done our fair share of griping. But there is something magical about watching Curry keep a ball on a string, navigate off-ball screens and make big men look more and more antiquated with each 30-foot three.[WATCH: Shaun Livingston puts James Harden in the blender] Kenny Smith, on Inside the NBA after the game, made a great analogy: That Curry is like a jazz vinyl record. Line him up and let him get into his groove, and it’s smooth improvisation from there. He was briefly knocked off kilter early in the series, and the Rockets didn’t seize the moment in a declarative enough way to proclaim this a series worthy of Golden State’s sweat. (Lose-Lose Pt. 2: Harden crowds Curry and Curry waltzes past him)[WATCH: Steph Curry discusses his game three performance]

Eastern Conference

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 4 Cleveland

Game 1: Celtics 108, Cavaliers 83Game 2: Celtics 107, Cavaliers 94Game 3: Cavaliers 116, Celtics 86 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 4: Celtics @ Cavaliers, tonight, 8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN

For a game that Celtics and Cavs fans waited from Tuesday to Saturday for, it lacked much in the way of a T.V. event worth structuring the night around. It started, then the Cavs were up, then it bled its way to a 2-1 series tally and another disappointing road loss for the Celtics. Still, to be up on a LeBron James-led team in the Eastern Conference is like a solar eclipse, and it beats this same time last year, when Boston was losing to the Cavs at home by 44 points. Game three’s lopsided score always seemed like the likely outcome, though perhaps not by 30. It’s game four tonight that will make things extra interesting one way or another. (Larry Nance Jr. and LeBron has a nice two-man game going in game three)[READ: Even LeBron’s teammates can be left in awe]It’s obvious that Al Horford, with a 7-7-4 stat line, needs to play with more aggression; he didn’t take a shot until his 13th minute of playing time. S.I.’s Rob Mahoney does a good job here of summating the loss. In essence, the Celtics finally acted their age to a team that was supposed to control the conference from start of the season to finish.  [READ: Celtics disappointed with Game 3, vow better play in Game 4]This game tonight, in many ways, feels like a cross roads for this team. Are they a cute, overachieving team with a great coach and every other cliche about hustle? Or are they the rare eagletarian offense that can win titles with equal opportunity scoring and a defense that fills gaps faster than any other team?  A win for LeBron would flip the series in his favor. A 3-1 lead would mean the Celtics are likely going to make the NBA Finals, a scene no one in Boston could’ve dreamed up a month ago. ALSO: This article written by someone from Lincoln, Ma. (not really Boston) -- America would love these Celtics if they weren’t from Boston -- is worth reading if sometimes insufferable. 

What else happened?