Cleveland vs Golden State III
The inevitable match-up has finally taken shape. Golden State vs Cleveland III is the match-up that basketball fans around the earth have been waiting for since the season started. Both teams have one championship each under their belt with the Warriors taking the first and the Cavs winning last year. This year proves to have some added drama involved with the Warriors adding the former MVP, Kevin Durant, to a core cast who won a record setting 73 games last year. Extremely disappointing move by Durant considering I’m an OKC Thunder fan, but that’s another story. The Cavaliers added some pieces to their championship team as well, including sharp shooter Kyle Korver and veteran point guard Deron Williams.
Round 1
East. The Cavaliers made light work of the competition in the Eastern conference this year starting off with the Indiana Pacers. The Cavs earned the 2nd seed in the playoffs this year. Conspiracy theorists claim the Cavaliers let Boston get the first seed because they felt as if it would be an easier road to advance as the 2nd seed. Chicago seemed to match up with them well and they could have potentially upset them. The Indiana series was a complete wash out. Cleveland overpowered them in every category possible and easily swept the series 4-0. Some of the games were close, like game 1 when CJ Miles took the game winning shot instead of giving the ball to Pacer star Paul George. That game seemed to set the tone for the rest of the series and the Pacers were never able to recover to at least make the series competitive.
West. The first round on the west was a matchup between the Portland Trailblazers vs Golden State Warriors. The Blazers superstar tandem of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were the only bright spots for Portland. Portland was swept out of the playoffs for just the sixth time in franchise history and just the second time in a seven game series, the first since Portland lost all four games to the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 Western Conference Finals. From the beginning of the series, the Warriors had the mindset of putting Portland away early and getting rest while the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers beat themselves up in a grueling series. Too much Curry and Durant for any team to stand a chance. When Golden State is clicking they are nearly impossible to beat. A team needs to literally play a perfect game in order to stand a chance.
Round 2
East. Round 2 for Cleveland would match them up with the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors were coming off a 4-2 series victory versus the Milwaukee Bucks. Throughout recent years the Raptors have proven to be an unreliable playoff team and have folded down the stretch of countless games. The Cavaliers again were able complete a four-game sweep of the Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals, which earned them that most coveted playoff commodity: more than a week to rest. It has become a part of their routine at this point. LeBron James has looked amazing throughout the playoff run so far. Although Toronto appeared to be making great strides in each of the games, Derozan and gang didn’t have what it took to finish. Kyle Lowry got injured and was never able to get healthy again. At this point throughout the playoffs James was averaging around 35 ppg 8 rpg and 6 assists. Questions surfaced again on whether or not he was or would be better than Jordan. I wish people just let that question go. Jordan was Jordan. Let LeBron be LeBron. Cleveland would wait for the Celtics or Wizards for the next round.
West. Round 2 for the Golden State Warriors matched them up with the Utah Jazz. The Jazz coming off a game 7 victory over the LA Clippers were feeling good coming into this series. Along with the Cavaliers, the Warriors were perfect this post season. This is the first time the Warriors have swept back to back playoff series and they were on an emotional high coming into this series. They smelled blood in the air and absolutely outperformed their competition, forcing Utah to shoot a record low 37% from the field. At the same time, the Warriors coach Steve Kerr remained sidelined after having a spinal cord leak procedure. He had back surgery about two years ago and have been dealing with a number of complications from the procedure. Mike Brown has stepped in and the club hasn’t missed a beat. The combination of Curry, Thompson, Green, and Durant are just too much for teams right now. The Jazz never stood a chance. Rudy Gorbert wasn’t 100%, George Hill missed a few games with a toe injury, and aside from Gordon Hayward the Jazz simply couldn’t score. This could have been the very last time that we see Gordon Hayward in a Utah Jazz jersey.
Conference Finals
East. The first two games Cleveland was able to capture without any difficulty whatsoever. The two wins were very convincing and it appeared as if both the Warriors and the Cavaliers were both headed for complete sweeps for the playoffs. Isaiah Thomas aggravated an old injury and was going to be sidelined for game 3 and hope for Boston diminished. As Boston traveled to Cleveland, now down 0-2 and facing what looks like a juggernaut in LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs, something clicked for the guys in green. A sense of pride carried them through game 3 and allowed them to stay close. James struggled mightily and only scored 11 points on 4/13 shooting and 6 turnovers. He also was very passive and didn’t look like himself. The game went down to the wire and was won by a last second shot by Avery Bradley to send the crowd home shell shocked. Marcus Smart led the Celtics with 27 points. The Boston Celtics managed to muster up enough pride to win one for their captain and their fans. Game 4 looked as if it was heading down the same road for the Cavs but they managed to pull it out after Kyrie Irving completely shreds Boston for a career playoff high of 42 points. LeBron got into early foul trouble with 4 fouls before halftime. This is the first time in LeBron’s career that he would have 4 fouls that early. The 2nd half was all Cavaliers. James regained his composure but it was Irving who took the team on his back. Despite twisting his ankle during the game he was able to make shots from everywhere on the floor and couldn’t be stopped. He had 21 of his 42 in the 2nd half and iced the win for the Cavs. The Celtics will look to keep their season alive when the Eastern Conference finals shift back to Boston. Cleveland owning a 3-1 lead looked to put the Celtics away and meet up with the Golden State Warriors who wait patiently for their eastern conference counterpart. With LeBron back up to his usual self and Kyrie hitting shots from everywhere the Cavs were able to take a huge first half lead and never looked back. Lebron scored 35 points in the closeout game and passed Michael Jordan to become all-time playoff scoring leader. The Warriors would be waiting for a rematch of the last two years finals. This should get very interesting.
West. The Golden State Warriors look absolutely unstoppable in this years NBA playoffs. They matched up with a strong San Antonio Spurs team for the Western Conference Finals and played well. Game one would be the catalyst for the doom of the Spurs. San Antonio came out red hot in game one and built a lead in the first half that extended to 25 points. Then the unthinkable happened. On a closeout of a corner jumper by Kawhi Leonard, Zaza Pachulia steps underneath him and aggravates an ankle injury. Kawhi also stepped on teammate David Lee’s foot to twist the same ankle. That ankle injury would prove to be the downfall of the Spurs and the catalyst for the destruction of the teams hopes for a championship. The rest of the series was downhill for San Antonio but it was tough to count a Popavich team out. They showed effort and heart until the very end. Spurs fans need to appreciate the effort and competitive spirit displayed by this rag-tag group of rookies, role players and over-exerted veterans. The Warriors were just too fast and skilled for the depleted Spurs. The racked up a 10 point advantage in fast break points alone. Kevin Durant, in particular, was a juggernaut on the break, scoring 15 of his 29 points in transition. Lamarcus Aldridge was sub par for the Spurs and was a mismatch every time he attempted to defend Durant. He wasn’t aggressive at all and I’m sure he had every Spur fan on the planet wondering why the Spurs signed him in the fist place. Manu Ginobili walked off the court to cheers from the crowd and applause from the Warriors in what many believe was his last game. He is well respected around the league and has earned his spot in the NBA Hall of Fame when the time comes. The Warriors are advancing to the NBA Finals for a date with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are going to be tough to beat. They are the most unselfish team in the league. They share the ball effortlessly and force you cover all types of motion sets that include so many screens and cuts that it would drive any team crazy. Playing this style takes advantage of the basic human challenge of communication. Will Cleveland be able to have the presence of mind to know who is setting the screen? Who is coming off the screen? Communicate crystal clearly the proper strategy to your teammate who is involved in the screen…all while 20 thousand fans scream at the top of their lungs. This is what makes Golden State so dangerous.
Prediction:
in 7 Games.