The Cleveland Cavaliers face the Golden State Warriors in this year’s NBA Finals. It’s been a long road to the championship for both teams, filled with adversity. The Cavs were tied up 2-2 before dominating the Toronto Raptors in their last two games, while the Warriors were down 3-1 before winning 3 straight against a talented Oklahoma City Thunder team. Although this is actually a rematch of last year’s finale, the Cavaliers are a totally different team this season.
The Cavs have played two bad games this post-season, but have otherwise done well; Cleveland leads all post-season teams in 3-point field goal attempts (33.2 per game) and 3-point field goal percentage (43.4%). The “Big 3” of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have been as good as advertised. James, Love and Irving are combining for 66.2 points, 20.7 rebounds and 14.5 assists per game. James is shooting 54% from the field and Irving is shooting 45% from behind the arc. When Power Forward/Center Channing Frye was acquired, I said it was the best pick up of any team in the NBA. Frye is shooting 57% from three and has been an integral part of the Cavs playing “Small Ball.” With Frye, Love, Irving, J.R. Smith, and James on the floor, they have 5 players who can shoot from three consistently. This lineup has become almost impossible to guard.
What more can be said about the Golden State Warriors? They broke the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls regular season record by going 73-9; they came back after being down 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals; they have the reigning back-to-back MVP in Stephen Curry, the Coach of the Year in Steve Kerr and they are the defending NBA champions. Any time a game is close in the 4th quarter, the Warriors seem to take over with the “Splash Brothers.” Curry and Klay Thompson are the greatest shooting back court in the history of the NBA; they can turn a 3-point deficit into a 9-point lead in a heartbeat. Curry and Thompson surpassed Orlando’s Dennis Scott for most three-pointers made in a series. Power Forward Draymond Green has struggled from time to time during the playoffs, but he can be a triple-double machine when he is on top of his game.
Most NBA “experts” say that the Warriors have the best offense in basketball. I disagree vehemently. The Cavs have the deepest bench in the league and the best shooting team in the NBA. Point Guard Mo Williams would be a starter on about 15 NBA teams, and he doesn’t even play. When the Cavs lost in the finals last year, they didn’t have Irving, Love or Frye. Also, David Blatt was their head coach. They are better than they were last year, and Coach Tyronn Lue has made all the right moves during the post-season. LeBron James is well rested and healthy. According to ESPN, James is running (baseline to baseline) 1.5 miles per hour faster than he was last year.
Prediction: What does all this add up to? Well, for the first time since 1964, Cleveland will have a professional sports team win a Championship. Nothing has changed my mind since the pre-season: I take the Cavs in 6 games and James (who is in his 7th NBA Finals with 4 different coaches) winning the MVP.
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