Newcomers to Cavs-Warriors rivalry embrace Finals

“Golden State has more margin of error so they can have guys maybe not shooting the ball particularly well because Curry and Durant are on such a roll that it may not matter”, former National Basketball Association coach Van Gundy said on a conference call.

As the NBA Finals begin Thursday night in Oakland, the rubber match between Golden State and Cleveland might be the best one yet. These powerhouse teams were selected by a majority of National Basketball Association fans and analysts alike to represent their respective conferences in the Finals before the season started, and here we are. The Warriors are a ideal 12-0 heading into the NBA Finals, while the Cavaliers only have dropped a single game.

Story line: The Warriors and Cavaliers make NBA history by becoming the first teams to meet in three straight NBA Finals.

Korver got added to the mix midway through the season when he was dealt from Atlanta to Cleveland and is one of a dozen players on the two rosters who weren’t on these teams last June when the Cavs rallied from 3-1 down to win the title. Even though the primary post-up options are obvious and every opponent knows they will be coming, the unpredictability makes the Warriors’ offense maddening.

The series went six games in 2015 and seven games last season. This group almost beat the full-strength Cavs previous year, and adding Kevin Durant tipped the scales in their favor.

“They are a strong team and they are playing well”.

Cleveland have three all-stars in James, Irving and Love, while Golden State have four in Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. ― Reuters picOAKLAND, May 31 ― Cleveland superstar LeBron James, as versatile and risky as any NBA player, is a focus of the Golden State Warriors as they prepare for tomorrow’s start of the NBA Finals.

I’ve made my share of bad picks over the years, too, but thankfully I’m no Stephen A. Smith (who has somehow managed to go 0-for-6 picking the victor of the past six NBA Finals). The postgame podium segments are legendary and the on-court performances have been spectacular, especially for LeBron James who now owns the title for most points in playoff history. Since then, he has had his good and bad days, he said. “It’s a decision that I would not take back at all because of what we learned from that and how we are and how we responded”.

“Our chemistry is getting better and better”, Durant said. “We both know that”.

“I will say, and I heard Kevin Durant say something like this the other day, I think it’s a little unfair to him to blame him for the lack of so-called “competitive balance” at the moment in the league”.

According to Van Gundy, Thompson’s playoff struggles (he’s shooting 39 percent) is not cause for panic. You saw me in the fourth quarter of Game 2, I could not sit still in my chair, it was that much pain.