Can’t the NBA crown be won from the bench?

LEBRON James, unstoppable, has made it clear: Nobody can stop Stephen Curry, either.

This admission has caused a deeper division among NBA devotees as Golden State prepares to host Cleveland in Game 1 of the Finals on June 4 (Friday in Manila).

This has been a most intriguing rivalry, with the main stars possessing contrasting magical gifts and styles.

The main rivals also operate from different edges of the court.

* * *

Of course, James packs an edge as he will be dishing out his all-around might in already his fifth straight NBA Finals appearance.

It will be the first championship trip for Curry.

Given his familiarity with the tough, uneven championship terrain, James displayed vast maturity with an epic 4-0 sweep of the high-flying Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, where he was often observed coaching himself while motivating teammates.

* * *

Golden State did it 4-1 over Houston in the West, and experts tend to blame the glitch on the breath-stopping accident suffered by Curry, who fell on his head after biting into an opponent’s head feint in the second quarter of the conference playoff’s Game Four.

Curry, who many thought should’ve been rushed to the hospital, wasted no time and rejoined his embattled teammates in the third quarter. He started to connect and score again after two misses, but the margin Houston had gleefully padded in Curry’s absence proved too enormous.

* * *

Anyway, in scanning for something of game-changing significance, experts have started comparing the rival coaches, Steve Kerr of the Warriors and David Blatt of the Cavaliers, who curiously are both locked in their first NBA Finals coaching stints.

As it would turn out, Blatt, who has made his winning mark in Europe and the Middle East, nearly ended up as Kerr’s bench deputy in this NBA season.

With Kerr’s deep familiarity with NBA puzzles and hassles—he has played (five times with a champion team), broadcast, analyzed, and managed a team—in the world’s No. 1 basketball league, it could only mean Golden State could enjoy an edge from the coach’s bench.

Hold it. If only an accident could indeed hold down Curry, James, on the other hand, excels doing things his peculiar mighty way.

James is often at his unstoppable best coaching himself.