Steph Curry responds to criticism of his performances on the biggest stage. #NBAFinalshttps://t.co/05cuhlDNf5
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 15, 2016
At what point do we stop criticizing players for having an off night? When we observe teams, do we see the joint effort created by 15 men or the superstar that should carry their team night in and out?
When you become a star in the NBA, its hard to shield yourself and sometimes your family, from the ridicule of the media and spectators. All of a sudden the lines are blurred between who you are as a player and person, and people can’t differentiate between the two; which is scary. Unrealistic expectations brought on by outside forces can cause a person to collapse or worse, have their ability questioned, in which Steph Curry and Lebron have both been a victim of.
So what do these superstars have to say to these critics? As you can tell from above, Steph seems to drown out the noise and wants to focus on helping his team, despite not being consistent in final games to winning his 2nd NBA title. For someone who’s facing an equal, if not bigger superstar in Lebron, Steph seems to be calm and without anxious to find that consistency and put the team on his shoulders. But the one quote, fans and media, should hang up on is,
“None ever played for this team”
And with this team, Steph doesn’t have to be a superstar every night. Kerr, with the backhand of Mark Jackson, built this team with the perfect system. A system that relies on a team of 15 and not just Curry dropping 40 every night. I think its something we all have marveled at seeing GSW benefit from each other regardless who’s in the game. We have seen the bench drop 40, Klay dropped 40 (multiple times), and dare we mention the defensive edge given by Draymond (and lets put the illegal hits to the side)? With countless examples, we can see this team doesn’t have to rely on Steph, which works to his benefit. Steph is a freak of nature; His ability to shoot the 3 in his sleep has yet to be seen in this league, but he doesn’t need to be that freak every night for this team to win.
So, at what point do we stop unrealistic expectations on stars? Or are they warranted? If a team fails, is it solely Steph and Lebron’s fault? No matter what you think, Steph doesn’t care, he’s going to do what’s needed for this team to win tomorrow night whether its setting screens or that perfect pick and roll. But for the sake of momentum for Cleveland, it better be another 40 point night.
What? That’s just a little expectation 🙂