2017 NBA Finals
If you’re the type of person who predicted a Golden State Warriors versus Cleveland Cavaliers three-match in the 2017 NBA Finals back in July or October, hell even in April, Congrats. You may pick-up your cookie at any time, just let us know. The 2017 NBA Finals might have been predictable to no end for many but the path here was fun as can be, a good majority of the 2017 NBA Playoffs excluded.
But as much as many hate on the predictability of the Warriors and Cavs steamrolling their conferences en route to the third installment of the latest NBA rivalry, you all still watched. You all still sat back and enjoyed the Warriors going 67-15 during the regular season, sweeping everyone in their path in the Western Conference playoffs and waiting for about nine days for the NBA Finals. You all loved when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Indiana Pacers out of the first round. When they clowned the Toronto Raptors for being the team many thought would give the Cavs a challenge, you all laughed. Many rejoiced when the Cavs finally put the Boston Celtics out of their misery in game five. You’ve all been waiting for this. Here it is.
The trilogy, the three-match, Cavs v Warriors III, whatever you want to call it. The simple fact of the matter is, we all expected this and we all wanted it too. Sure, we’re all fans and want our team to succeed but let’s be honest, outside of a huge injury or insane acquisition of talent, this was the matchup we were going to get dating back to July 4th at approximately 6 pm once the Kevin Durant signing was really real.
So sit back, relax and buckle up because this might be the series we all expected but you never know what might happen when all the cards are laid out on the table. I mean, you didn’t forget about last year already, did you?
How the Warriors can Win
It can certainly be as simple as shoot the lights out, don’t get hurt or suspended and play some good defense and this title could be Golden State’s to lose. Sure. But LeBron James is not going to let his team go down that easy. The Warriors know very well, shooting can be the difference maker in more than one way. Get hot and shut it down early or come out cold and allow Cleveland to stay in it.
The Warriors will need to utilize their big guns and separate themselves from Cleveland off the opening tip. The Dubs can continue their path of domination by coming out early and throttling their opponent from the beginning. Will Klay Thompson continue to be cold like he has been through the 2017 NBA Playoffs? It’s really unlikely. As a team, their defense will the deciding factor in this series and they can’t allow Cleveland to come out like the San Antonio Spurs did in game one of the Western Conference Finals. The Warriors offensively and defensively were among the top NBA teams this season.
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are playing at very high levels right now and all signs point to both of them having a clean bill of health. Both teams are actually coming into this finals series without any major injury issues to speak of.
A big downfall for the Warriors could be their turnovers. The most talented team on the court on just about any given night gets careless with how they handle the ball from time to time. They averaged 14.8 turnovers per game during the season, which was in the bottom 10 of the league, and in the playoffs, they turned the ball over 13.8 times per game, the 11th among all 16 postseason teams. There are few flaws on this team but if the Warriors don’t take care of the ball, they could see LeBron James racing down court for a big dunk or Kyrie Irving getting an easy layup to fall more than they’d like.
The Warriors margin of error is much bigger than the Cavaliers, they have some room to make mistakes. One guy could be cold and the Warriors can still win by double digits if everyone else connects in their roles. Golden State needs to play their game and this series should be one they win.
How the Cavs can Win
The Cleveland Cavaliers can do it. They can. They can absolutely win the 2017 NBA Finals. Selling the Cavs short is absolutely unfair to one of the most talented teams in recent memory led by quite possibly the greatest NBA player of all-time. They have the star power in LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, the role players who can make a difference in Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith and bench guys like Kyle Korver, Deron Williams, Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye who can pay dividends in the series. They were the best offense all through the 2017 NBA Playoffs and they’ve knocked down three’s at a better percentage than the Warriors during the postseason. They have the talent and ability but can they actually pull it off? It’ll be hard to do.
The Cavs have a slight advantage in the rebounding department, primarily centered around the play from Tristan Thompson. The undersized big man for Cleveland dominates the glass, particularly in the last two NBA Finals averaging 11.4 rebounds in 13 finals games against the Warriors, second only to his teammate LeBron James. But a big difference from the previous two NBA Finals and now is the re-emergence of Kevin Love as a legit threat on the glass. The importance of Kevin Love will indeed be highlighted soon but if he can continue his postseason double-double mission, he might be that third point of attack Cleveland has been looking for all along.
Cleveland’s downfall can absolutely be their defense. They’ll need some superb efforts from all of their players in this series, not just LeBron, and Tristan. You could obviously look at the point of attack in Kyrie Irving as a possible detriment to the Cavs defensive struggles, maybe even J.R. Smith possibly having to guard one of the Splash Brothers as a problem and then there’s the issue of who LeBron guards. If he takes up the task of defending Draymond Green, then Kevin Durant is open for shots, driving opportunities and he’s also free to roam. His off-ball movement was on another level this season. LeBron could guard KD, but then Draymond is free to roam and facilitate, doing what he does best.
It’s a hard situation for Cleveland but more than anything, their team defense defending the cutters needs to be on point. Cleveland’s defense has shown glimpses of being a cohesive unit but the Warriors offense has been that much better. Cleveland needs to hit that “switch” if they haven’t already.
X-Factors
Cavs: Kevin Love
An NBA All-Star is an x-factor? Is this not allowed? Well, too bad. This is what it’s going to have to be. Outside of a pretty solid finish to the 2016 NBA Finals, Kevin Love’s history against the Warriors in the finals has not been great. He missed the entirety of the 2015 NBA Finals, thanks to one Kelly Olynyk tug in the first round and last year, while going through the concussion protocol, he was exploited on a bunch of pick and rolls and almost played out of the series. Love has almost quietly turned himself back into the player that garnered All-NBA honors in 2012 and 2014, almost. As mentioned earlier, continuing his double-double run could possibly the difference for the Cavs success. No one is asking for a 30 point, 20 rebound game but if he can get 20 points with 10 rebounds, that’s going to be a big difference for the Cavs. His rebounding, interior scoring, and continued excellent outlet passes need to be going at a premium.
To be fair, Love did have some favorable matchups in the first three rounds for the most part outside of Serge Ibaka in round two. Seeing an active and motivated Love, someone that head coach Tyronn Lue really got rolling in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, heading into the NBA Finals is exactly what the Cavs fans want to see. Now it’s time to see what version of Love we’re going to get. Will we get a 2016 NBA Finals version of Love, only averaging eight points and six rebounds during the finals or the 2017 NBA Playoffs version of Love, someone who has been a strong third option for Cleveland throughout the postseason?
Warriors: Man in the middle
Let’s not kid ourselves. The Warriors will start Zaza Pachulia but the Georgian big man won’t be playing crunch time minutes for the Dubs. He might play 10-15 minutes but he’ll need his reserve bigs to come in and play some pivotal minutes also and protect the rim at all costs. Kyrie Irving and LeBron James danced their way to the rim with ease throughout the playoffs and Golden State will need shut that down, one way or another. Even if things get a little ‘dirty’. The Warriors aren’t going to reject every shot and they’re not going to come away with a clean defensive contest on every play but they have bigs who might be able to make it hard for the Cavs to score at the rim with ease. JaVale McGee and David West being those strong forces in the middle and possibly make tough. They should have LeBron and Kyrie second guess driving inside.
These three bigs plus the occasional interior defense from Kevin Durant and Draymond Green won’t be the reincarnation of Dikembe Mutombo in his prime but they can play an important role in the Warriors defensive schemes. Plus, if they really want to combat the rebounding edge that Cleveland should have coming into the series, these bigs will need to step up on the interior. JaVale McGee catching lobs for easy scores, Zaza Pachulia shooting off the pick and pops and David West being a solid passer and enforcer on the inside will be their primary offensive roles but on the defensive end, protecting the rim could be the biggest key for the Warriors success.
Final Prediction
Golden State Warriors in 6
2017 NBA Finals MVP: Draymond Green
Kevin Durant is the odds-on favorite to win the NBA MVP award, Stephen Curry and LeBron James are not far behind him but after that, Draymond Green’s odds are pretty high for a guy who does so much for a team. He showcased his talents this season on multiple occasions, tallying up triple-doubles and near-five by five games while also being a favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year.
He can facilitate for the Warriors offense and the Cavs don’t really have a defensive matchup for him. If Tristan Thompson is his assignment, Draymond might exploit him out on the perimeter and Thompson will either get burned defending a guard on a switch or won’t be able to crash in for a rebound. Kevin Love will almost immediately find himself on a Warriors guard during pick and rolls. And is LeBron James really going to leave Kevin Durant free to score at will? Draymond is quite possibly the biggest factor for the Warriors prevailing through and capturing a title to complete their drama-filled season. If all breaks well, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry will ultimately steal votes from each other and Draymond could sneak in averaging 15-9-8 and snag some NBA Finals MVP votes.
Green had a stellar season and the outspoken do-it-all forward is looking for revenge. He proclaimed his intentions before the season began and now it’s his time to shine. He got what he wanted, a matchup with the Cavs. Now it’s time for him to step up.
The 2017 NBA Finals begin with game 1 on ABC, Thursday night at 9 pm ET.
