Cavs Warriors Finals Rubber Match
The more I think of The 2017 Finals matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the more I think of the Superbowl. Not this past Superbowl, but the game in general. Like the National Football League, the National Basketball League has not had a game in over a week. In fact, the last game was the Eastern Conference Finals matchup between The Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, which was on the 25th of May. Finally we get the Warriors Cavaliers series.
During the interim, just about every conceivable conversation has been had over how this series will play out. Golden State sweeping the Cavs, the Cavs taking the Warriors 7 games. The Warriors winning at home on Cleveland's court in 6 games. Vegas says the best odds are for Golden State to sweep the series. The second best odds are Golden State wins in 7 games. Even Vegas is getting in on the weirdness. I think the time between games just adds to speculation, for the media to hype the game, for everyone to concoct wild scenarios, and it clouds what will actually happen.
My prediction, the Golden State Warriors win in 5 games. Brutal! What? LeBron James can only win 1 game? The best player since Michael Jordan can't even challenge a team he beat last year?! Bullshit!
Is it BS? Let's look at the facts. Fact, the series went 7 games last year; Golden State almost won. Fact, Golden State replaced their WORST player in their starting lineup with Kevin Fucking 2014 MVP Durant. Durant is a better shooter, defender, passer, rim protector, and rebounder than Harrison Barnes. Fact, Draymond Green was suspended for a game last year, game 5 which, could have been the Warriors opportunity to close out Cleveland in Oracle arena. Fact, the Warriors will have 3/4 best player in the series between Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and LeBron James.
Now I know what you're thinking, well, LeBron is so much better than the second best guy (either Steph or KD) so that makes a difference. And I do agree with you, it does make a difference. But that doesn't change what Golden State does in transition. All those shots that went to Harrison Barnes last year, are now going to Kevin Durant.
Don't overthink this series. LeBron is amazing. I'm not denying that. It's a tribute to his greatness that Cleveland even has a chance against one of the best teams I've ever seen. But let's keep it real. The Warriors have 2 MVP's, the Defensive Player of the Year, a top 5 shooter all time in Klay Thompson, a 6th man of the year candidate in Andre Iguodala and a deeper, more developed bench.
Can I create a scenario in which Cleveland wins? Yes. LeBron James does what LeBron James does; which is 30 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson rebound the shit out of the ball. Kyrie Irving goes off for 42 points and wins a game by himself. J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, Love and Irving get hot from 3 (spontaneous combustion ensues). The Cavs attack Curry on every single pick and roll (like they did last year) and LeBron plays championship caliber defense which I know he can still do when he wants to.
But, things are different now. When the Cavs go to the rim, they'll be met by Kevin Durant. Yes he's 7 feet tall, I know if you google it, google says he's 6'9, that's a lie. Durant is 7 foot with a 7'4 wingspan. Also, LeBron James is going to have to guard someone. Last year, LeBron could roam a bit, and slouch off of Iguodala, Green or Barnes. You can't leave Kevin Durant. So it changes the math. Kyrie vs Curry, J.R. vs Klay, LeBron vs Iguodala, Love vs Durant, and Tristan vs Green. Durant will torch Love. Run a Curry/Durant pick and roll and now you have Durant on Kyrie. Good luck with that Cleveland.
There's something else at work here. People don't realize how amazing Golden State is. When Golden State got KD, they obivously got better. They won games, made highlight level plays, and smashed opponents; something embarrassingly so. And everyone just shrugged and nodded and said, "Ya well you know, they got KD and they were good last year, so IDK what do you expect?". While the media was hyping Russell Westbrook and James Harden, Golden State was steamrolling people with and without KD. I think most people don't really how fucking spectacular Golden State really is. They haven't seen Kevin Durant in transition with Curry and Thompson running next to him.
I will say if Golden State loses to LeBron James and Co. LeBron will be the Greatest of All Time. It's a separate article for a separate hypothetical day. If LeBron wins, he'll have beaten one of the best teams ever. Golden State with 3 Finals appearances, 2 MVP's and everyone else, they're a legitimately great team. And don't give me that shit about LeBron losing in the Finals. His early Cleveland teams were trash, and literally went from First to Worst when he left. A starting 5 of LeBron James, Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Sasha Pavlovic and Boobie Gibson. Yeah those were some real great teammates for LeBron. The Dallas loss we'll chalk up to Dirk Nowitzki being great. Then lost to an amazing Spurs team, and an even more amazing Golden State team, without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Honestly, are any of those players as good as Scottie Pippen? That's a negative. Jordan had one of the best defensive players EVER. Pippen also happened to be really good on offense and a best in transition. Anyway I'm rambling.
Don't get it twisted. Golden State + Kevin Durant, - Harrison Barnes. Take the |absolute value| and you have a winner. Golden State in 5. Watch out though, the narrative is on James' side. If Golden State wins, "Well, they added Kevin Durant, whaddya expect?" If the Cavs win, "LeBron James' greatness was the difference, he's the GOAT". The pressure is on Golden State. I just hope we get a series.