Two teams left in the hunt for the championship. The Cavaliers and Warriors have been impressive all season and these two talented teams will face off for the title. Let's see who will have enough to win their first ring in a long time.
NBA FINALS
#1 Golden State Warriors vs #2 Cleveland Cavaliers- These two teams have been the best in the NBA since the All-Star Break. The Warriors have had the best record in the league since the beginning of the season and are 12-3 in the playoffs coming into the Finals. The Cavaliers were 19-20 at one point in the season and had critics saying this team would never be a contender. That seems like ages ago because with the addition of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Timofey Mozgov helped the Cavaliers fix problems they had with their depth. The Cavaliers were an impressive 12-2 in the playoffs, sweeping the Celtics and Hawks, while on their way to the Finals. The 24-5 record between the two teams is the best record for two teams entering the Finals since 1991.
One of the reasons for the Cavaliers success in the playoffs is the play of Tristan Thompson. He has dominated the boards so far giving the Cavaliers lots of seconds chances to score. Another reason the Cavaliers have reached the Finals is their impressive play on defense. They have forced a lot of turnovers on defense which has allowed their offense to get easy points. Mozgov and Thompson have been elite protecters in the paint and Shumpert has been great on guarding the wings. A huge question coming into the Finals for Cavaliers is the health of Kyire Irving. If Irving is healthy along with a determined LeBron James, the Cavaliers will be difficult for any team to beat.
The Warriors have been dominating teams all season long and continued that superb play to the playoffs. They closest thing they had to face in an obstacle was a 2-1 deficit to the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Warriors were able to respond with 4 straight decisive victories. This team looks like it has no weaknesses, with an elite offense and defense. They also have great depth coming off of the bench with Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and Marreese Speights playing key minutes throughout the season. Steve Kerr has done an impressive job with fitting his players into an offense that suits them perfectly. The run and gun style of play has been taken to another level and the Warriors are proving all the doubters wrong who think that a team that relies on three-point shooting can't win the championship.
Most experts have predicted the Warriors to win handedly. But these Cavaliers are a talented team and you can't count a team with LeBron James out. The Warriors have a deeper team but the Cavaliers have to believe that their best five can compete with the Warriors best five. In addition Cleveland has the number one offense in the playoffs, even over the Warriors, so I expect high scoring close games all around. LeBron will give them trouble in the paint with his size and if his shot is falling it will be a very long series for the wings of the Warriors. In order for the Warriors to win they have to rely on their star Stephen Curry, who seems like he hasn't played a bad basketball game in over a year. Curry dominates on offense and just his presence will cause shifts in the Cavalier defense. Veterans like Iguodala and Livingston will have to step up in these Finals and play great basketball on both sides of the ball. Cleveland will need to steal one in Golden State because the Warriors are a great road team and will take one in Cleveland. In the end I think that Golden State edges Cleveland because of their home court and their depth. The Warriors have been a historically great team this season and they will prove why in the Finals en route to their first championship in 40 years. Warriors in 7
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