The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors will meet in the NBA Finals for the 4th consecutive time.
The Cavs and Warriors made history last year, when they became the first two teams to meet in The Finals for three consecutive seasons.
The Cavs and Warriors are now the fourth and fifth franchises to reach four straight NBA Finals, joining the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.
The Cavs have had a tumultuous season to say the least. Since last year, they have had over 20 starting lineups, over 15 players come and gone, and two head coaches.
The one constant in Cleveland has been LeBron James. The man they call “The King” is going to his 8th straight NBA finals. He did this with two different teams and three different coaches. This is something Micheal Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant never accomplished.
When the Golden State Warriors get going, there is not better offense, in the history of the NBA. They have one of the greatest scorers of all-time in Kevin Durant ( 5th all time in points per game, 27.12) and two of the top 11 Three point shooters ( Percentage wise) in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Draymond Green is the “straw” that stirs the Warriors drink and the “glue” that holds them together. In Game 6 and 7 against the Rockets, Green had a combined 14 points,23 rebounds, 14 assists, 5 steals and 6 blocks. Green is one of the few players in the NBA that has a tremendous impact without scoring points.
Prediction:
This is a classic example of David ( The Cavs) vs Goliath (The Warriors).
If you were to draft the top five players in this NBA Championship series, the order would be.
1) LeBron James
2) Kevin Durant
3) Stephen Curry
4) Klay Thompson
5) Draymond Green
4 out of the top 5 best players in this series are on the Warriors roster.
Durant is averaging 29 points per game in the post-season, his number 2 option, Curry is averaging 24 and 3rd option, Thompson, is averaging 20.5 points.
James is averaging 34 points per game in the post-season, his number 2 option, Kevin Love, is averaging 13.9 points. LeBron is scoring 20 more points per game than the next best player on his team.
I have been crunching numbers for the past 48 hours. There is no scenario where this series is even competitive. The opening line for Thursday’s Game 1 is the Warriors minus 12 points.
Tyronn Lue didn’t make any adjustments against the Celtics, in order for the Cavs to have a chance at winning 1 game, he must play Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson more. Their athleticism and scoring ability could be a great boost to the Cavs three point shooting slump.
Too much talent, too much coaching.
Warriors win easily in 5 games despite LeBron averaging well over 30 points per game.
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