Tomorrow night the NBA Finals get underway with two major ties to North Carolina: Stephen Curry, who is Davidson’s basketball claim to fame (and a remarkable one at that), and Kyrie Irving.
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Golden State has Harrison Barnes, formerly a Tar Heel and, we should add, one who actually did take school seriously, and James Michael McAdoo, who has played 19 minutes in the playoffs with one point and four rebounds.The Cavs also have Dahntay Jones, like Irving a Duke product.
The only other ACC players in the finals both play for Cleveland – James Jones, formerly of Miami, and Iman Shumpert, a former Yellow Jacket.
Almost-ACC players: Shaun Livingston, who committed to Duke before heading straight to the NBA, and JR Smith, who would have been a Tar Heel.
For Irving, it’s probably going to be a career defining moment.
He came to Cleveland and quickly became the face of the franchise. When LeBron James returned from his Miami years, Irving had to adjust, and when Kevin Love joined the Cavaliers, his role changed again.
But there’s no doubt that Irving is a brilliant talent. He could be the best ballhandler in the NBA and therefore quite possibly the world. He’s a brilliant penetrator and shoots well from outside too.
Additionally, he’s going against the league’s best player in Stephen Curry (LeBron James will have an argument here of course).
Curry is such an unusual player. Little guys just don’t dominate the league very often. There was Nate Archibald, Isaiah Thomas and Alan Iverson. It’s a short list, no pun intended.
But he’s also the face of the reigning champions.
There is no greater way to make an impression than to kill the king and take the crown.
On the other hand, as Wilt Chamberlain found out in a different context, if you lose to the king, you suffer in a special way.
Cleveland is a very different team this year than they were last year when the Warriors defeated them. Irving and Love are both healthy and Tyronn Lue is doing a solid job of coaching a team that didn’t respond well to his predecessor.
Despite all his gifts, Irving has not become an elite defender. So if he is going to have an impact on this series, if he’s going to lead his team, it’s going to be on offense.
Since Curry is not a brilliant defender either, it’s going to be fun to watch the offensive fireworks.
This article was written by JD King from SB Nation and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
