The media-driven narrative that Matthew Dellavedova can shut down Stephen Curry "pissed off" and "irked" the Warriors, according to a report from Northeast Ohio Media Group. "People have lit a fire under Steph, which is good thing," Warriors center, Andrew Bogut told NEOMG. "It's something that you don't want to do. It worked out well. We know Delly is a great defender, but we know he's not a Curry stopper."
The Debate whether Dellavedova is a dirty player and the additional attention he has received as an NBA finals hero has turned the second-year point guard into a polarizing player. Curry has placed little credence in the idea that Dellavedova did anything special or different guarding him. After game 2 of the NBA finals, Curry said "Shots I normally make, I knew as soon as they left my hand that they were off," He also said, "That doesn't usually happen. I mean, mechanically, I don't know if there is an explanation for it. Just didn't have a rhythm and didn't find one the whole game."
Following a 20-point outburst in Game 3, Dellavedova was largely ineffective in Game 4 and Game 5, scoring 10 and 5 points respectively. Golden State forward Harrison Barnes told NEOMG after all the talk of "Delly" outplaying Steph, it was time to reevaluate how the Warriors were defending him. "Let's look at how we're playing (Dellavedova). Are we doing what we're supposed to? Are we letting him have his way or is he really scoring these baskets?" Barnes said."In Game 4, that was a point of emphasis for us. Let's make him work."
And it didn't appear anyone was slowing down Curry in Game 5, as he scored 37 points in the Warriors' win. The Warriors would maintained their winning streak in game 5 and take a 104-91 victory againts the Cavs.
