Now that the dust has settled from both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals’ series, the time has come for the prestigious summer classic, the NBA Finals. After a season and postseason filled with injuries to stars, the NBA’s final two teams are standing with a chance to be crowned world champion. Let’s take a look at the match-up between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.
NBA Finals: (East 2 seed) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (West 1 seed) Golden State Warriors. Season series tied 1-1
Cleveland Cavaliers
How They Got Here: The Cleveland Cavaliers have battled through some adversity early on in the playoffs and have fought to overcome some significant injuries and suspensions to advance to this NBA Finals series. Everyone knows they lost their All-Star forward, Kevin Love, in the first round of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics where he dislocated his shoulder, ultimately had surgery, and was ruled out of the entire playoffs as his injury needs about four to six months to recover. Everyone also knows the Cavs were also without reserve guard J.R. Smith, who was suspended for the first two games of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Chicago Bulls as a result of him punching Jae Crowder of the Celtics in their first round series. It also has been well documented Kyrie Irving also has been banged up with tendinitis in his left knee, as well as a right foot strain he suffered in their series win against the Bulls, which limited him in both the Bulls and Hawks series.
With the losses of some key players and with the limited productivity of Irving, the Cavs have managed to navigate their way through the playoffs, led by LeBron James, who is in his fifth straight NBA Finals appearance and looking for his third NBA title. To put what he has accomplished by getting to the NBA Finals five straight years in context, no one has accomplished that feat since members of the 1960s Boston Celtics’ teams did it when they were dominating the league. Michael Jordan, nor Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, or Shaquille O’Neal have made five straight NBA Finals appearances.
The Cavs swept the Boston Celtics in the first round (Cavs won series 4-0), and then won a very tough and physical Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Chicago Bulls in six games (Cavs won series 4-2). In the Eastern Conference Finals series against the Atlanta Hawks, the Cavs played very well as a team, and that high level of play earned them a sweep of the Hawks (4-0).
(NBAE/Getty Images)
Keys To This Series: This series will mostly be about LeBron James and his mentality when the ball is tipped. He puts so much pressure on the defense with his ability to get to the basket and finish around the rim as well as his ability to get his teammates open looks at the basket. In the regular season series against the Warriors, James played in only one of the games and had 42 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. If he plays aggressive, is able to score, and able to get his teammates open looks and they’re hitting their shots, Cleveland definitely will have a chance to win the series. A big factor for Cleveland will be can they score the ball. Golden State is well equipped to put points on the scoreboard from many different positions, and their bench is pretty deep. Cleveland doesn’t have the luxury of a deep bench. Throw in Kyrie Irving being limited with foot and knee problems, and the pressure on everyone else to step up increases.
The role players will must step up again if the Cavs want to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history (2007). Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova have been great throughout the playoffs. Thompson’s play in the post and his offensive rebounding, along with Dellavedova’s scoring and defense were definite factors in the Cavs advancing to the NBA Finals. Thompson must play big in the post and will have a chance at offensive rebounds as the Warriors don’t have a lot of size in their front court. Timofey Mozgov will also have his opportunities of scoring down low and must score when those opportunities present themselves. J.R. Smith has also had some key big shooting performances in the playoffs to make up for the loss of Kyrie Irving for a few games.
Defense on two of the most lethal shooters in NBA history in NBA MVP Stephen Curry and Tristan Thompson will also play a factor. I can see Cleveland Head Coach David Blatt matching Iman Shumpert on either Curry or Thompson. If that’s the case, Shumpert will have to be locked in defensively. I can also see LeBron James matching up with Curry or Thompson at different points in the series. James has the speed, quickness, and size to give both Curry and Thompson trouble on the perimeter. Cleveland has seen its defense improve during the playoffs and come into the series with the third best defensive rating of all playoff teams at 98.5.
What It Would Mean To Win NBA Title: If LeBron James and this Cleveland Cavaliers team pull off what would be an upset in this NBA Finals, it would be one of the greatest stories in sports history. The city of Cleveland hasn’t had a team win a championship in one of the four major sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) in 50 years, since the 1964 Cleveland Browns won the NFL title in the pre Super Bowl days.
The story of LeBron James, a kid from Akron, Ohio who lived most of his life not too far from the city of Cleveland, growing up to become a legendary high school basketball player, and making the jump from high school to the NBA. With just the luck the city of Cleveland needed, the Cleveland Cavaliers ended up winning the NBA Draft Lottery and having the number one pick in the 2003 draft, and set the stage to draft its hometown hope in James. In his fourth year in the league, James takes a group of unheralded NBA players to the Finals, only to be swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
Then, there was The Decision in 2010, where LeBron made the highly publicized and hyped announcement to the world that he would be taking his talents to the Miami Heat. Venom from the people of Cleveland ensued and LeBron quickly became one of the most hated figures in sports. After four straight trips to the NBA Finals and two championships with the Miami Heat, James announces that he will return home to Cleveland in a quest to finally bring his hometown city a championship.
Now with his team and a city on the verge of doing something it’s never done, the Cleveland Cavaliers are four wins away from completing an improbable run towards an NBA Championship.
Golden State Warriors
How They Got Here: After winning a franchise and league best 67 games, and sweeping their first round series against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Warriors were faced with real adversity in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies.
[READ: Memphis Grizzlies Up 2-1 On Golden State ; Should Warriors Hit Panic Button?].
After their turn around against the Grizzlies in Game 4, the Warriors won seven straight games to close out the Grizzlies and build a 3-0 lead on the Houston Rockets. A lackluster Game 4 to close out the series resulted in the Warriors having to go back to Oakland to clinch their spot in the NBA Finals. Also in Game 4 against Houston, the Warriors’ championship hopes were in jeopardy with Stephen Curry‘s violent fall where he came down hard on the back of his head and his right arm. He would later return in the game, but he clearly wasn’t the same player that led the team to a league best 67 wins and the Most Valuable Player award.
The Warriors clinched the Western Conference Championship against the Houston Rockets in Game 5 to move on to the NBA Finals. In their win, there was more concern for the team as Klay Thompson got hit hard by a knee in the ear which left him dizzy. Thompson left the arena after Game 5 dazed, and had been throwing up and showing signs of a concussion, which was later diagnosed last week. Thompson has since passed the NBA’s extensive concussion protocol tests, and is ready to go for Game 1 of this series.
Keys To The Series: As in every series in these playoffs for the Warriors, they rely heavily on their perimeter game to open up the floor for them offensively. When Curry and Klay Thompson are hitting outside shots and their confidence grows, it usually spells trouble for any opposing squad. If those two get hot, the rest of the team gains confidence, and their offensive attack is second to none in the playoffs, which would spell trouble for Cleveland. Draymond Green and Shawn Livingston can also do damage from the outside with jump shots and three-point FGs.
Andrew Bogut, David Lee, and Draymond Green will have to play big for the Warriors on the inside. They must keep Tristan Thompson off of the offensive glass and prevent second chance opportunities for the Cavs. They will also need to play solid defense on Timofey Mozgov, and prevent him from catching the ball deep in the post.
(NBAE/Getty Images)
Andre Iguodala might be one of the most important people in this series. He will most likely be tasked with guarding LeBron James for most of the series. Sure, Golden State may have Harrison Barnes, or Draymond Green guarding James at times, but when he gets in the game, Iguodala will be primarily responsible for defending James. He must limit LeBron’s touches as much as possible, and if LeBron does get the ball, he will have to try to play solid percentage defense and force LeBron to beat him from the outside. James doesn’t shoot the ball particularly well from the outside, and if Iguodala can play the percentages, he will be effective. Now that doesn’t mean he will stop LeBron from getting his points, it just means he may be able to limit his point total by the end of the game. With the offensive firepower the Warriors have, limiting the Cavs points will pay dividends to Golden State in winning the series.
The Warriors must also limit their turnovers to keep Cleveland from running with LeBron James on the break and J.R. Smith running to the three-point line. Easy buckets from James and open looks for Smith will get their confidence going, and that could mean big offensive nights for the two. If the Warriors play their game, and find a way to let LeBron score his points and shut everyone else down, they should come out on top in this series. But, that’s easier said than done. If LeBron has huge games in the series, and the Warriors allow the other Cavs’ players to have great nights as well, the Cavs will have a significant fighting chance at winning.
What It Would Mean To Win NBA Title: Similar to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s been a long time since the Golden State Warriors were in the NBA Finals. 40 years ago, the Warriors’ 1975 team won the NBA Championship for the franchise and this team is looking to become one of the greatest teams in league history. This year’s Warrior team won 67 games during the regular season, and won their games by an average of over 10 plus points per game. They’re only the eighth team in NBA history to accomplish that feat, with six of the seven previous teams went on to win the NBA title.
An NBA title would be the icing on the cake for a team with the league’s MVP in Stephen Curry, and a finalist for Coach of Year in Steve Kerr. This team has a bunch of All-Stars and former All-Stars on its roster, and they’ve had to sacrifice for the betterment of the team. A win in the Finals would mean everything to them and the city of Oakland as they have been waiting for this grand stage to prove to the world that they belong.
Prediction: Golden State in six games (4-2)
Game 1 of this ultimate best of seven series is tonight in Oakland, 9 PM/ET on ABC, with NBA Countdown coming on at 8:30 PM/ET.
Sports Talk with Dāvon 