Richard Jefferson: Warriors lost their poise in last year’s Finals

Stephen Curry caught LeBron James napping. I also believe Durant will win finals MVP, which is well deserved since this would be his first National Basketball Association championship.

The much anticipated, but not surprising, 2017 NBA Finals are upon us, and the writers at the University Press could not be more pleased.

At his annual state-of-the-league address at the Finals, Silver spoke on a number of topics before Game 1 – including what’s perceived as a lack of parity. Nor was he out there in 2015 when the Warriors took the Finals from Cleveland in six games. Without Green in uniform in Game 5, the Cavs stole a win in Oakland, setting the stage for that miraculous comeback. Especially its leader, who nearly single-handedly forced Golden State to play six games to win it all two years ago against a team that was basically LeBron and a bunch of D-Leaguers. How do you follow all that up? He added that if the incident keeps the issue of race in the spotlight, then he’s okay with it. As good as the Warriors are on defense, all three of those Cavs are stronger than their Golden State counterparts, which could become a huge problem if the Dubs aren’t splashing treys. The Cavs covered in four of the seven games and were +175 underdogs to win the series. Even though we have the best player in the world (LeBron James) on our team, you still can’t take it for granted. The Warriors outscored the Cavs 42-16 in the paint in the first half.

“That’s why I’m able to relate to him so much”.

Los Angeles Police Department officer Aareon Jefferson told CNN that they had received a call Wednesday morning to say that the n-word had been painted on the Cleveland Cavaliers star’s gate. The Cavaliers need Frye and Korver to succeed from long range.

A year ago, the Western Conference champions started to unravel when Green was suspended for Game 5 after he exceeded the league’s postseason flagrant foul point limit following a physical altercation with LeBron James in Game 4. If the Cavs can get Thompson and Love to stay on the floor together gathering rebounds while not being a negative defensively against the Warriors smaller lineup then the Cavs may just do this. A video game simulation has them going the distance.

The Cavs have three more chances to prove they aren’t.

“Every time Golden State has a few days off, they come out a little cold”, Fratto said. Golden State established a theme early: they were going to get to the basket one way or another. They also have the defensive edge, except Curry on Irving, which they will shift to try and avoid wherever possible. Almost every time the ball left his hand, it looked good, and the Oracle crowd was unhinged by the results as the Warriors pushed their lead to 93-72 at the end of three quarters. “That’s my personal goal and I’m in a position to do it again”.

“I can’t go out there and do everything on my own, or I can’t go out there and just let my teammates do all the work for me”, Durant said.

The Golden State center sported a “SHAQ” hat.

It’s really too bad we don’t see more of these types of events. Thompson is shooting just 36.4% from three during these playoffs down considerably from his 41.4% in the regular season.

Analysis: Last season, the Golden State Warriors ranked first in the National Basketball Association in both first quarter scoring (28.8 ppg) and first quarter scoring differential (+3.8 ppg). But in the deciding game, Curry went to the line just once. The Cavaliers face the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. He’s seeking his first title and is second for the Warriors in scoring with 25.2 points per game this postseason.