Welcome in to the 2016 NBA Finals preview on the blog provided by yours truly. This year's finals is the most anticipated rematch between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Dubs beat the Cavs in last year's finals to capture their first title in 40 years. They meet again and while the Warriors retained their championship core from last year, the Cavs have a new coach in place and all their players are at full strength.
Golden State Warriors
By all means, the 2015-16 campaign of the Golden State Warriors is one for the ages in the franchise's history. The team set a new mark for the most regular season wins in NBA history, finishing with an impressive record of 73-9 and supplanting the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls who set the previous mark at 72 wins. Steve Kerr is one lucky man because he got to be a part of history as a player for the Bulls and now as a coach for the Warriors. The impressive thing about the Warriors in breaking the record was that they kept most of their championship players intact. Having won a championship last year, most would think that the competition was going to get tough for them, but they got through the regular season with ease. You can say that the Warriors were a record-breaking machine. They had the longest winning streak at home stemming from last season with 54 home wins before falling to the Boston Celtics late in this season. They're the first team in history to shoot over 1,000 three pointers in the regular season. Steph Curry set an individual record for 400 three pointers made in one season and became the NBA's first unanimous Most Valuable Player. The postseason was another story for the Warriors as Curry went down with ankle and knee injuries in the Warriors' first round matchup with the Houston Rockets before returning in Game 4 in their matchup vs. the Portland Trailblazers in the semifinals. They were battle tested in the conference finals against an aggressive Oklahoma City Thunder who upset the San Antonio Spurs, the 2nd best team in the west, in the semifinals. The Warriors were down 3-1 and were on the brink of having their magical season end in disappointment. But, as former Rockets' head coach Rudy Tomjanovich used to say: "don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion." The Warriors stormed back against the Thunder and eventually took the series in 7 games en route to their 2nd consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The year 1964 was the last time that the city of Cleveland has ever won a professional sports championship and the Cavaliers are Cleveland's only hope to end that drought. Even though the Cavs had to wait for a majority of the season for Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to get healthy, they still got off to a good start. When you have LeBron James on the roster, chances are you'll still be a competitive team. However, it was a "funky" season for the Cavs. The team made a controversial decision to relieve former head coach, David Blatt of his head coaching duties despite coaching the team to a 30-11 start at the midway point of the season. LeBron, at one point, called out the rest of the team for showing a lack of toughness. Tyronn Lue steps in as interim head coach and changed offensive and defensive philosophies for the Cavs. The Cavs' offense has more emphasis on an up-tempo pace and their defense has more emphais on tough, disciplined defense in order to finish off opponents in the 4th quarter in games. They pulled off another trade before the trade deadline in February by acquiring Channing Frye from the Orlando Magic in order for the Cavs to space the floor more on the court. Despite an underwhelming regular season finish, the Cavs flipped the switch in the postseason, easily disposing the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in a 4 game sweep in the first two rounds and eliminating the Raptors in 6 games in the conference finals. LeBron James makes history individually and becomes the first NBA player in a while to make the NBA Finals in 6 consecutive years.
Keys for the Dubs
The Warriors have patented "small ball" basketball and it has worked throughout the majority of the season. Add in to the fact, that they are still a deep team behind the Splash Bros. There isn't a new formula that the Warriors have to follow in facing against the same Cavaliers team with a few differences. The main achilles heel that has derailed the Warriors is the turnovers. Even though the Warriors' ball movement is a sight to see, they've committed some silly turnovers. It was evident in all nine of their regular season losses and in the conference finals matchup vs. OKC. They have to take better care of the ball. The next keys for the Dubs I'm going to rehash on last year's preview. Let Curry do his magic and Klay Thompson has to step up his game. Last year, Thompson disappointed overall in the playoffs, but he has stepped up this year in Curry's absence and when the Warriors were playing with their season on the line when down 3-1 vs. the Thunder. The rest of the team has to step up as well. They were almost a non-factor in the conference finals after playing so well in the first two rounds. If they can find their form, they can remind the league how deep of a team they are.
Keys for the Cavs
They're healthy and adding Channing Frye to the mix, they can play the Warriors' own game of "small ball" themselves. In the semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, they've set a record for most threes in the postseason. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are the primary ball handlers and they can draw double-teams to give a player some opportunity for an open shot, making the Cavs a dangerous team. They need to play the Warriors like they did in the Christmas Day game where the game was close. If you remember the MLK Day game in Cleveland, they got blown out by the Warriors, suffering their worst home defeat in recent history. With Tyronn Lue as head coach, they can match up well with the Warriors in terms of pace and defense. The Big 3 of James, Irving, and Love each need to have big games to carry this team towards a championship and they need more unsung performers like how Matthew Dellavedova stepped up in the finals last year. Look for J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, Tristan Thompson, Richard Jefferson, and Dellavedova to provide some timely relief for the Big 3.
Prediction
Unlike last year, this could be a very good matchup between the two teams. The Cavs were undermanned when the Warriors captured the NBA title from them and it looks like they can run lapses and catch up behind this Golden State team. Despite the Cavs fully healthy, I think the Warriors are still the better team in terms of depth. LeBron, Kyrie, and K-Love could give Steph, Klay, and Draymond some fits and Channing Frye can provide mismatches at the "5" position if Bogut and Ezeli are on the floor for the Warriors. This could be a down-to-the-wire series, but I think the Warriors have the depth to cap off their historical season with back-to-back NBA titles.
Warriors in 7
Game 1: Q-by-Q Reaction, Halftime, and Full Recap Posts tomorrow 6:00 PDT
Unlike last year, this could be a very good matchup between the two teams. The Cavs were undermanned when the Warriors captured the NBA title from them and it looks like they can run lapses and catch up behind this Golden State team. Despite the Cavs fully healthy, I think the Warriors are still the better team in terms of depth. LeBron, Kyrie, and K-Love could give Steph, Klay, and Draymond some fits and Channing Frye can provide mismatches at the "5" position if Bogut and Ezeli are on the floor for the Warriors. This could be a down-to-the-wire series, but I think the Warriors have the depth to cap off their historical season with back-to-back NBA titles.
Warriors in 7
Game 1: Q-by-Q Reaction, Halftime, and Full Recap Posts tomorrow 6:00 PDT
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