NBA Wednesday: Warriors overcome Heat, Cavaliers top Hornets

A year ago, Willie Cauley-Stein turned heads with his defense in the NCAA Tournament. The 7-footer went baseline-to-baseline on a key defensive possession to help seal a win against Notre Dame. Oh and he did it against one of the quickest guards in the tournament.

Cauley-Stein is still making the adjustment to the NBA level, but his absurd combination of size and athleticism remains as impressive as ever.

Stephen Curry is an opposing NBA team’s worst nightmare. He also haunts any non-Warriors fans. The Warriors are clearly the target of every other NBA city, and when Golden State goes on the road it turns into a traveling band that will rip your heart out. It’s all led by Curry, who has a knack for hitting clutch -- and devastating -- three-pointers.

Earlier this season, the Clippers gave the Warriors a run for their money. Then Curry ended that threat, much to the chagrin of Erik Griffin of Workaholics fame.

That is how the NBA.com play-by-play described the play you are about to see. It’s also one of the biggest undersells in play-by-play history.

Enjoy the art that is Lance Stephenson.

Doug McDermott has proven he’s capable of throwing down dunks. But most don’t expect him to throw down dunks like THAT. McDermott used a quick first step to blow by John Wall -- an impressive feat in its own right -- and then finished with authority.

The dunk was surprising, with analyst Jon Barry so caught off-guard all he could muster up was “what?” McDunkit, that’s what.

There are many dangers when it comes to being a cameraperson at a professional sporting event. The most obvious thing to keep an eye on is a player hurtling toward you. Precisely how the player charges at you changes the severity of the impact, especially when it’s a butt coming straight toward you.

That’s what happened when the Bulls’ Tony Snell came tumbling down, with his butt falling toward the poor cameraman. He even knocked down a beer with his feet in the process.

Since range isn’t that big of a deal for Steph Curry, who can shoot 40-foot shots whenever he wants, it’s time for him to work on some other aspect of his game. How about rebounding? How about rebounding against the entire Miami Heat team, essentially make it a 5-on-1?

Yup. That works. But even that looks easy when Steph Curry does it. Now it’s just another entry in his list of super powers.

The Miami Heat are proving to be a legitimate challenge for the Golden State Warriors. But even in the midst of an abnormally competitive matchup featuring the NBA champions, Steph Curry will continue to be Steph Curry. And nothing solidifies that more than shooting 40-foot shots even though the team was down in the first quarter.

Because, in all honesty, Curry was going to make that shot regardless. He’s just that confident.