Monster mash: LeBron James undaunted by beastly Warriors

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors will meet in the NBA Finals for the third straight season beginning this Friday, June 1, but this time the victor will be able to boast years down the road as to how they won the rubber match between these two great teams.

Lue said his players “probably already have seen and heard” Green’s comments before, and he chalked it up to Green “speaking out of emotion”. These guys again? But I want this rivalry. That became even more apparent during the postseason, especially in the Eastern Conference Finals where Love averaged over three points more than he did in the regular season, and more than six points more than at any other time since donning the wine and gold.

Even more incredibly, the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead past year to lose the title – a wound which will still be raw. The good news is that 9:00 P.M.is just around the corner, or 6:00 P.M. for those that call the Pacific Coast home. The Cavs wrapped the series up with a win Thursday in Game 5. We’re a better Cavaliers team and they’re a better Warriors team. But he’s not Jordan – the gold standard in the National Basketball Association in my lifetime (and all I can judge by is what I have seen with my own two eyes). “I appreciate it. I’m happy we’ve been able to steam roll people and I love the fact that they’ve been able to steam roll people because I just love great things”. “Right now we are going to enjoy this and we will think about the Warriors tomorrow”.

The series will feature a number of compelling individual matchups, most notably James versus Durant at small forward, Kyrie Irving versus Curry at point guard and Kevin Love versus Draymond Green at power forward. The Warriors beat Cleveland to claim the 2015 National Basketball Association title, then the Cavaliers got a bit of revenge by winning a thrilling seven-game series last season, thus claiming the 2016 title. The tandem of a Draymond and Kevin Durant frontcourt is stellar due to their offensive and defensive ability.

Game 7 of the Finals a year ago had the highest ratings for a Finals game since Michael Jordan’s last game with the Chicago Bulls in 1998. We don’t know yet. The Warriors have the No. 1 defensive efficiency at 99.1 points allowed per 100 possessions; the Cavs are No. 3 at 104.6. Everyone seems to be under the assumption that the Cavs can flip the switch on defense when the time comes for them to do so.

In 2016, after Blatt was sacked mid-season, the Finals match-up was Kerr vs. Tyronn Lue.

In conjunction with a few other variables, Green’s suspension was the turning point in the series.

In the closeout win over the Celtics, James scored a game-high 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting, including a four-for-seven showing from three-point range, and that performance moved him past Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and into first place on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list. They don’t come around everyday. We had to earn it.’ And both teams had to do the same thing.

“They care about my health, not just being a basketball player”, Thomas said.

For those contemplating on whether to watch the Finals this year or not, just think about how epic this matchup is going to be.

I like Golden State in five.