When one of the all-time NBA greats speaks, people listen, and in this instance, Golden State Warriors legend Stephen Curry has made a bold NBA Finals prediction involving his little brother and his team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Though only one of the four Conference Semifinals series has concluded, and Philadelphia still needs two more victories to advance to the next round, the elder Curry feels confident not only in the Sixers’ chances at going all the way, but in his brother Seth’s ability to lead the charge.
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Steph has placed his bets on the Sixers surviving their Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, then beating the survivor of the Brooklyn Nets/Milwaukee Bucks series, and finally taking down the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals. Despite the Sixers featuring a pair of all-stars on their squad not named Seth Curry in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, Steph has called for Seth to capture the Finals MVP award.
I’m a pseudo-Sixer fan now. … We’re going storybook.
Game Four of the Hawks vs. Sixers series is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on Monday.
Steph Has Dominated the Past Head-to-Head Matchups Against Seth
GettyBrothers Stephen Curry and Seth Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers respectively, during the 2019 Western Conference Finals.
It’s not really fair to compare the NBA careers of Steph and Seth Curry. However, the facts are that one is two-time league MVP, two-time scoring champion, three-time NBA champion and seven-time all-star, and is certainly going to be a first ballot hall-of-famer.
The other brother has crafted a decent seven-year NBA career thus far, but has floated from team to team and has always been a solid, but unspectacular option on his squad. The Sixers are already Seth’s seventh different NBA team, while Steph has been with only one organization so far – and in five more years of pro ball than his brother.
The good thing for Philly’s starting guard is that basketball is a team sport, and despite the individual statistical dominance of his older brother, Seth could still have a shot of racking up some head-to-head wins against Steph. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case as of yet.
The Curry brothers have played against each other 14 times already – including four times in the playoffs – and the elder sibling is 12-2 overall. Even worse, thanks to the Warriors sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, Seth is 0-4 against Steph in the postseason.
Unsurprisingly, Steph has the significant edge in nearly every statistical category too, holding better marks than Seth in points per game (29.7 to 8.0), rebounds per game (6.4 to 1.6) and assists per game (7.0 to 2.6) among others. Looking at each of the 14 contests, Steph also put up “better stats” in points and rebounds in every game, while being out-assisted only once.
Even though the Sixers are vying for a championship this year while the Dubs are stuck at home, Steph can still claim victory in the lone head-to-head from earlier this season, as Golden State took out Philadelphia 107-96 on April 19. Steph hit 10 threes and went off for 49 points, while Seth had a trio of makes from distance and finished with 15 points.
Could Seth Curry Actually Win NBA Finals MVP?
GettySeth Curry of the Philadelphia 76ers and Bojan Bogdanovic of the Utah Jazz during a game in March.
With the likes of an MVP finalist in Embiid, a Defensive Player of the Year snub in Simmons, and on fire Tobias Harris already on the roster, few, if any, Vegas Oddsmakers would like Seth Curry’s chances at winning Finals MVP if the Sixers win the crown. It’s hard to deny that Curry has played exceptionally well during his first postseason in Philly though.
The 30-year-old is averaging 16.6 points per game through the first eight playoff games, while shooting a terrific 54.3% from the field and 44.9% from distance. Among the eight contests was Seth’s playoff-career-high 30-point outing in the 76ers Game Five close-out victory in the first round over the Washington Wizards.
With fellow starter Danny Green now out for an extended period, the Sixers will be relying on Seth Curry to continue his hot play.
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Stephen Curry Makes Wild NBA Finals Prediction Involving Sixers, Brother