National Basketball Association fans are getting what they wanted since the beginning of the season: a rematch of last year’s finals and the two best players in the sport: LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
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What’s changed in the past 12 months?
By the time the Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals past year, Kevin Love’s left arm was in a sling and Kyrie Irving was wearing a knee brace.
Kerr went with the more experienced Iguodala in last year’s finals against Cleveland, and he wound up as the finals MVP.
Which city will earn the right to parade the Larry O’Brien Trophy depends upon a number of key factors – all of which will play out over the next two weeks. “Bitter having to sit there and watch not being able to help, but sweet seeing so many guys that are the main reason we are where we are today stepping up and making big plays”, Love said. Love was out with an injured shoulder and Irving sustained a season-ending injury in Game 1 against the Warriors. The only one that didn’t have one of those three future Hall of Famers was the 2006 NBA Finals between the Mavericks and Heat (before LeBron took his talents there). The two sets of All-Stars bring very different skills to the table.
LeBron joins Bill Russell, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones, Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, Frank Ramsey, Bill Sharman, and Tom Sanders as the only players to ever play in six consecutive Finals.
Which Warriors team will show up? . Golden State has had enough glorification. Curry and Thompson combined to shoot just 11 of 41 from beyond the arc in Games 3 and 4 against the Thunder, both losses, and manage to stave off a combined 5 of 17 effort in Game 5. According to Fox Sports, Curry made a record of 36 points. Given that he was perilously close to garnering a suspension in the conference finals, Green will have to curb his enthusiasm (and flailing legs) if he’s to remain on the court. Tyronn Lue has taken over and implemented a new scheme, made the environment more enjoyable and has given James so much confidence that he isn’t concerned with suddenly being perceived as an underdog against Curry.
The best game all season was a 121-118 OT win at OKC on February 27.
The shorthanded David Blatt, meanwhile, was unable to make significant adjustments of his own, rendering a triple teamed LeBron ineffective.
The Warriors, who won it all, have pretty much the same cast.
The Warriors and Curry won their title past year knocking out James and the injury-depleted Cavs in six games. Those struggles have come against the Pistons, Hawks and Raptors, with firepower that pales in comparison to the offensive juggernaut known as the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State seemed exhausted in the first five games of the Thunder series.
Can Cleveland avoid the same mistakes that plagued Oklahoma City? But the Warriors don’t want the embarrassment of not winning a title after their 73-9 season and gritty playoff comeback over Oklahoma City.
With a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, Durant and Westbrook abandoned the ball movement that gave them the upper hand and began chucking quick shots that clanked off the rim, back into the hands of their red hot opponents.
Other than countering the Warriors’ depth, length, experience, three-point shooting, the suffocating defense of Andre Iguodala and the wizardry of reigning two-time MVP Curry, Lue’s other challenge is extracting aggressive, All-Star-caliber performances out of the enigmatic Love, who needs to consistently rebound and convert three-pointers for the Cavaliers to have a shot.
So, who has the upper hand in this exciting rematch?
Golden State is too good this season.
This could prove to be the difference-maker of the finals. Unfortunately for Cavs’ fans, if the better-rested team is on the road like Cleveland, the records are 7-9 straight-up and 8-7-1 ATS. “Kevin [Love] and Kyrie [Irving] are both healthy, the addition of Channing Frye, so we’re a completely different team than we were past year”.
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“But then I lock back in and I start thinking about how fun it is to compete during the playoffs and the first round, the second round, and Eastern Conference Finals”, James said.
