2015 NBA Finals
- Parker H.
- May 31, 2015
- 4 min read
NBA Finals: Cavaliers vs. Warriors
The finals that everyone wanted has come to fruition, and it pairs the best player in the world against the MVP and the best team in the league. It is hard to break down the series without looking at the stars; and we get to see two of the brightest in the NBA. Lebron James has been unbelievable when it comes to finishing at the hoop, creating with passes and grabbing rebounds. He does everything and plays almost every position depending on who else is on the floor.
Steph Curry is the newest challenger to the King and his Warrior squad has faired well against some of the NBA’s finest to date. James Harden, Marc Gasol, and Anthony Davis all join Lebron James and Steph Curry on the All-NBA first team list, and Curry and his squad is 12-3 against that elite company so far. You can look at his ability to hit threes (in which I have mentioned in other posts) and think of how game changing they are, but what he offers in terms of ball handling and defense are what is shadowed behind his sensational shot.
The defense that Curry brings is backed with the ranking of number one overall in defensive efficiency. Draymond Green finished 2nd in the defensive player of the year voting, and has guarded everyone from James Harden to Anthony Davis in these playoffs. Green will get time on Lebron when one of Tristan Thompson or Timofey Mozgov is on the bench. When the Cavs go big and James plays the wing/point positions a mix of Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguadala, and Klay Thompson will be thrown at James. The W's have plenty of options, but if I were the Warriors I am looking to stick Klay Thompson, an excellent guard defender, on JR Smith, and Iman Shumpert. Shumpert can effectively guard Curry or Thompson, but Thompson can create a stale mate by giving him absolutely nothing offensively. Smith is the better of the guards offensively, but to put him on the court instead of Shumpert is a major defensive concern when deciding who can guard the MVP. This is also not to mention that Thompson will be by far the best defender Smith has seen in these playoffs, as the Cavs eased through the depleted East.
The bigger concerns come from the bench production. The Cavs typically only go 7 deep and Matthew Dellavedova, and James Jones just don’t quite matchup to Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Andre Iguadala, and Festus Ezeli. While the Warriors can sub and create a plethora of lineups the Cavs are stuck with limited rotations and a lot Lebron at the power forward position to give Mozgov or Thompson a blow. Moving James around hasn’t been a problem, but now that they face a team with a player who can guard him at every position it will be interesting to see how well Lebron can hold up being guarded by a different Warrior almost every time down. Going back to game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals and looking at Lebrons’ ridiculous effort to beat the Hawks at home was an impressive individual feat. However, watching the game you could see James was tiring, and by games end, he was sprawled out on the floor drained of energy. The King gets a week off but thinking of 4 different sets of fresh legs rotating on and off of James will be the greatest physical challenge he will see in these playoffs.
It is starting to sway towards the Warriors favor and we haven’t even mentioned Kyrie Irvings’ situation yet. Dealing with two separate leg injuries I am sure he will play but my question is to what effect? His last 6 games played in he average 13.3 points per game and 3 assists. This isn’t what you can get from your second star if you want to win a championship. He also has never been known for having a strong defensive prowess, and in comes Steph Curry. I would expect Shumpert to guard Curry as much as he can, but the task of running with Klay Thompson will be a grind in itself. Did I mention Curry is leading that top rated defense with 1.9 steals per game this post season? He will be in the face of Irving all series, and may effectively wear out the injured budding star.
It is looking like mismatch-city, until you factor in what the walking triple double can do. James has averaged 27-10-8 so far, and is averaging 40 minutes a game in his last 14 games - and that is just ridiculous. He earned the leagues respect and if he can drag the boys just a little further it will be the most impressive basketball feat that I have witnessed. I do not doubt James but I do doubt how well the club who went from beating on the banged up Hawks can handle a team who has been wrecking the NBAs’ best in the West. The Warriors had a regular season we will remember for years and a team for the books as well. I believe they will be the 2015 NBA Champions, and it is only a matter of how many games.
If I were to guess how long this series goes, I would guess either 5 or 7. The Warriors have only lost 3 games at home this entire season. Only one loss came in the playoffs, and it was the game in which Steph Curry was awarded the MVP. That game always has an awkward pre-game ceremony and seems to affect that player's performance. I don’t see Curry slipping twice at home, and if the Cavs do get a 1-1 split, I am betting the Warriors can go to the Q and split again. With the series tied 2-2 and back home I’d pick the Warriors to win a best of three, but up 2-0 if the Warriors were split and come back to the Oracle up 3-1 it is celebration time. Depending on how you see the first two games is how I would look at the number of games it will take. Either way, I have the Warriors winning and would lay -230 to see them win and I will pick them to win it in 5 games.
Parkers Picks
Warriors -250
Warriors IN 5
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