Who has what it takes to beat the Warriors?
Golden State has definitely proved itself to be the most talented team in the NBA. Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few years, you know they took home the championship in 2015 and in 2017. They have also already been predicted to win the championship this year and in the next couple of years to come. But like all things in life, you never know what could happen.
Recent trades and buyouts have me thinking there might be a team who can take that 2018 ring off of Steph Curry’s finger. Can you guess what team I’m going to say? (I’ve only been blogging about them for the past two days…) You guessed it!! THE CAVS!!
Let’s just talk about why Golden State is currently dominating the NBA (and then we’ll talk about why the Cavs now how everything they need to dominate just a little more). First of all, they have always been good, but as good as they are now? No. It’s intimidating. With names like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant you almost don’t even need more of an explanation, but I’m going to give you one because it is deeper than that.
Drayman Green. Golden State power forward. He is strong enough to guard all five positions. Their defense, in my opinion, is what keeps them on top. They have a defense rating of 97.3%, 46.3 opponent EFG%, 49.7 FG% at the rim, 6.2 blocks per game, and 9.4 steals per game. If that doesn’t impress you then nothing will.
Another thing that makes Golden State so strong is how well they work together as a team. They share the ball. No one is trying to steal the spotlight and make it about themselves. They understand that this is a team sport and if they are going to win a game (or a championship) they are going to win it as a team, not as an individual. The Warriors have more assists per game than any other NBA team. They also make sure that they are prepared for anything that is to come. This includes injuries. The Warriors basically have two starting line ups. I’ve heard their bench referred to as “The Golden Bench” if that tells you anything.
Now that it’s pretty obvious as to why the Warriors have been such a power house, I am going to tell you why I think this year the Cavs might come out on top.
While some of you (ok, most of you) may disagree, I think that Kyrie Irving no longer being a part of the Cavs is going to end up being very beneficial for the Cavs this season. Kyrie is an incredibly talented athlete and I think he will significantly improve the status of the Celtics, but with him leaving the Cavs and D-Wade joining, I think the Cavs just might win the championship this year. I’m not going to shock anyone here when I say that it was obvious that LeBron and Irving didn’t work well as teammates. Kyrie is so young and so talented that it’s hard not to notice his shine. LeBron is almost 10 years older than Kyrie and still just as talented. Kyrie could have learned a lot from LeBron if he would have humbled himself but instead he did what many 25 year olds would do and tried to steal the shine and really cared mostly for himself rather than for his team as a whole. Although Kyrie added so much skill to the Cavs I think having him gone will end up pushing the Cavs even further.
Dwyane Wade also just signed with the Cavs and has already begun practice. Him and LeBron have an on court and off court best friendship and this is going to translate so well for their team. With all of the selfishness gone and just pure love for the game and for their team, the Cavs are destined for something great this year. We have a while to wait and see what happens, but after all, they were the only team to beat the Warriors last season.
