So far in these NBA Finals, reigning MVP Stephen Curry has been contained by Cleveland Cavaliers’ Matthew Dellavedova but according to one man, the Aussie really has no chance to stop Curry on a consistent basis.
AND THAT MAN …
.. is Klay Thompson’s own father Mychal.
The dad of the Golden State Warrior has said that the Australian international has done a fantastic job thus far on Curry but that he couldn’t keep that level of intensity up.
Sounds like a challenge.
Via Contra Costa Times:
“Dellavedova, he couldn’t stop Steph if Steph was asleep,” Mychal Thompson said on the ESPN LA radio show he co-hosts on Thursday before Game 4. “Steph is that good of an offensive player, that great of a shooter, that great of a ballhandler.“So giving him credit for stopping Steph Curry, people who are doing that don’t understand that Steph Curry is one of those kind of guys — Kevin Durant, Kobe (Bryant) when Kobe was in his prime. There’s nothing you can do with guys like that. They’re going to score. You’re just trying to make things as difficult as possible for him. And Dellavedova’s scrapping, and he’s hustling. I give him credit for that. And he’s trying his little heart out. But no, come on. That’s a joke to think he can stop Steph Curry.”
“He’s a scrappy guy, man,” Thompson said of Dellavedova, the undrafted Saint Mary’s product who has turned into a sensation in the Finals. […] “The way he’s playing Steph, he’s being physical. He’s grabbing, clutching. He’s just going after guys’ knees and stuff. Did you see him go after Draymond (Green’s) knees the other night, by the way? The league sort of didn’t notice that.”
AYESHA DISSES CAVS
Who is Ayesha you say? Ayesha Curry is Stephen Curry’s wife, and while her two-year-old daughter Riley has been grabbing the headlines along with husband Steph, she has stayed clear of the spotlight.
Until now..
According to Ayesha, “Riley slept through the entire first half” of both games at the Q. Of course, Ayesha doesn’t foresee Riley falling asleep at Roarcle, a setting that according to her, brings “the noise.” Check out the Instagram:
HORRY HAS SO MUCH HATRED FOR THE LAKERS
Decorated ex-NBA champion Robert Horry keeps it real.
In a fascinanting and revealing piece for The Players’ Tribune, the seven-time NBA champ opens up about playing with Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets; what it was like to be teammates with a young and desperately-hungry Kobe Bryant; and the ruthless, at times ugly business of the NBA that most fans don’t know (or particularly care) about.
Horry says that the Los Angeles Lakers did him dirty with a last-minute release prior to the 2002-03 season:
He would never stop. It was incredible. He practiced until one day, a couple months later, he finally won. If you literally said, “Kobe, I bet you can’t make five in a row by dropping the ball and kicking it in from half court,” that motherfucker would go out there and practice it until he could do it. And that’s what people don’t understand when they talk about champions — when they talk about a winner’s mentality. Kobe’s dedication to the game is unreal. And I mean that in the truest sense … it was literally unbelievable. The common denominator in every championship team is the mentality that Kobe has, and the mentality that Hakeem had with me at that Christmas party. You have to be so obsessed with winning that you pull no punches with your teammates, even when you’re in first place. Even when you’re a defending champ.With Phil (Jackson), his ability to coach Michael Jordan and the success that he was able to lead those Bulls teams to is why he commanded so much respect from players. The titles Phil won in Chicago translated into titles in Los Angeles. His six rings is what made (Shaquille O’neal) get into the gym and become one of the most dominant forces in league history. However, as dominant as we were in that three-peat run, I feel we could’ve done more if it weren’t for egos and complacency. Honestly, I left the Lakers with so much hatred for that team. I felt that the way they handled my situation was so wrong. I remember going into the exit meetings after we had won the title and it was my year to opt out. You walk into the meeting and everyone is hugging you, kissing you, praising you.
I said, “I know I make too much money and I know you’ve got a hard-on for Karl Malone.” They had been wanting him for five years, ever since Phil got there. I’m a realist. Tell me like it is and I will respect you more, just don’t go behind my back. I told them I’d stay for $2 million, but they weren’t interested. All I asked them was to allow me to find a team before the money dried up and not to wait until the last day to release me. They told me, “We won’t do you like that.” […] Well, they didn’t do me like that. They waited until the next to last day to release me.
This is what athletes mean when they say, “It’s a business.” Hell yes, we make a ton of money to play a silly-ass kid’s game. But even if you’re the hero, even if you hit one of the biggest shots in franchise history and win multiple titles, your ass can be out the door the next day. […] I actually have five NBA titles thanks to the Lakers. Three from playing with the team, and two from them showing me the door.
