“The other Cavs” turned into a punchline this season, something Stephen Curry says he hates.
Curry concedes that, yes of course LeBron James is an amazing player who carries much of the burden in Cleveland, but argues that his teammates deserve a bit of credit for helping him reach his eighth consecutive NBA Finals.
Steph Curry weighs in on LeBron’s latest Finals feat – calls LBJ “amazing” but says “don’t disrespect the other guys…” https://t.co/qQpUw54UfY
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) May 28, 2018
James played all 48 minutes in the 87-79 Game 7 triumph over the Boston Celtics, finishing with a masterful 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and his supporting cast also stepped up.
Per USA Today:
“I hate when people say that,” said Curry (prior to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.) “Like it’s — they’re NBA players, and yeah they’re new and what-not and ‘Bron is amazing, (and) he played an unbelievable playoff run to date and has willed his team to his eighth straight Finals and all that, which is unbelievable to think about the consistency and the longevity and just the level of greatness that he’s shown in the Eastern Conference.
“As a basketball fan, to turn on the TV last night and watch the game and there were points in the game where you didn’t know how it was going to play out and they found a way to get it done, so shout-out to him. It was an amazing performance, but don’t disrespect the other guys out there. They fought hard too.”
From Jeff Green (19 points in Game 7) to Tristan Thompson (nine rebounds) to George Hill (plus-24 rating) and J.R. Smith (12 points), the Cavs couldn’t get there without contributions from the “others,” as Shaquille O’Neal always describes role players. What’s more, the players who came the Cavs’ way during a roster overhaul at the February trade deadline played only a minimal role (Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson played a combined 17 minutes while Rodney Hood didn’t play).
