The indisputable case for Stephen Curry being robbed of the MVP; U.S. Open TV coverage, final thoughts

Andre Iguodala was voted the Most Valuable Player of the NBA finals by a committee of 11 voters. Seven of them voted for him, while the other four voted for LeBrick. All are media members and they should be under suspicion of smoking crack. Sam Amick of USA Today, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, Hubie Brown, the loud mouth ESPN radio commentator, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, Marc Spears of Yahoo and Marc Stein of ESPN.com all voted for Iguodala. Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, Zach Lowe of Grantland (ESPN.com publication) and Jeff Van goofball Gundy voted for LeBrick.

Steph Curry didn’t get one single vote. That’s an outrage. I have to admit, I was shocked when commissioner Adam Silver announced that Iguodala had won the award.

I can see LeBron getting votes; he played a tremendous series. He averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists. But he was 13 of 42  from three point range (31%), and was 46 of 67 from the free throw line (69%). And his team lost. While LeBron played a really good series, his drama queen acts on the court constantly and his insistent declaration that he’s the greatest player in the world, got tiresome. The only player on a losing team to ever win an MVP award in the NBA finals was Jerry West in 1969, and I think that’s a travesty. Bill Russell of the winning Celtics should have won it, though West put up some terrific numbers. The best player on the winning team deserves it. That should be a precedent. Great job LeBrick, see you next year.

And that gets me back to the travesty of Iguodala winning the award. Here are Iguodala’s numbers: 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Steph’s numbers: 26 points per game, 6.3 assists, and 5.5 rebounds. But compare their three point shooting numbers: Steph accounted for 75 points on three pointers made, Iguodala had 42 points on three pointers made. Steph sank 25 and Andre 14. Steph was 23-of-26 from the free throw line, 88%; Andre was a total liability at the line for the Warriors. He was 10-of-29, 34%, that’s right 34% from the free throw line. That’s your MVP? He guarded LeBron and did an OK job overall, but LeBron schooled him quite a bit. Steph is a highly underrated defensive player and makes key steal after key steal. As Bill Parcells used to say, “the numbers don’t lie,” and in this case they don’t add up in awarding Andre Iguodala the MVP.

In addition to that, Steph is the heart and soul of his basketball team. He’s the unquestioned leader and sank clutch shot after clutch shot when his team needed him  the most. I don’t understand the thinking behind these guys’ votes. It’s an outrage. Steph even seemed pretty shocked when he was talking to Doris Burke of ABC after the game. The Golden State owner seemed to be telling him something about how well he played when they announced Iguodala won it. It was like the owner was almost apologizing to Curry that Iguodala won the award. Stephen is such a team guy that the Lawrence O’Brien Trophy for winning the NBA title is the most important thing to him, but his not getting the MVP had to be somewhat of a blow. His two year old daughter, Riley, looked ticked off. I’m ticked off. Incredible win for the franchise, their first since 1975, that’s 40 years, but a travesty that the best player in the series and the best player in the NBA did not win the MVP award in the NBA finals. Forget about trying to be fair and give the MVP of the finals award to somebody different from the MVP of the league. The best players deserves the trophy. If he’s the best in the regular season and finals, he deserves it. This isn’t elementary school baseball or softball where everybody gets a trophy. This is the highest level of basketball in the world, and the best player should get the award.  Steph Curry was the best player both in the regular season and in the NBA Finals. He deserved both awards.

TV times for the 115th U.S. Open

Thursday-Friday, Noon-8 PM ET/11 AM-7 PM CT on Fox Sports 1; 8-11 PM ET/7-10 PM CT on FOX.

Saturday: 2-10 PM ET/ 1-9 PM CT on FOX

Sunday: 2-10:30 PM ET/1-9:30 PM CT on FOX

Weather will be terrific at Chambers Bay. Mid 70’s throughout the weekend, sunny, with winds 8-10 MPH during the four days.

A lot of pundits are making a case for the bombers like Rory, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Bubba to win this thing. Their distance gives them a distinct advantage. There is a lot of sentimentality for Phil, but I really think those are heat picks. All those guys can do well, but I like Spieth in the end. He can get it out there 295 to 310, his iron play is stellar and his short game is magnificent. So I like Spieth.