Why the Cleveland Cavaliers will win the NBA Finals

But the Warriors were slowed by their own injuries, allowing James to engineer the biggest comeback in finals history and bring his home-town Cleveland its first National Basketball Association title. Putting together an immaculate 2016 National Basketball Association finals, including back-to-back 40-point outings, LeBron effectively cemented his legacy as one of the best to ever play the game and picked up his third championship ring in dominant fashion. The Warriors certainly have, as the offseason addition of Kevin Durant vaulted an already loaded roster to even higher class. Durant joined Golden State with championship aspirations in mind, but the superstar forward will have to be at his best to dethrone the defending champions.

And unlike the Warriors squad that blew a 3-1 Finals lead past year after a record-setting 73-9 regular season, this version of the team is even more unsafe after adding former league MVP and four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant.

Cleveland will not be regretting their acquisition now.

Now we’re getting exactly what we wanted.

For the record, I picked Cleveland at the start of the season primarily for two reasons. He’s just chasing Jordan, victor of six rings with the Bulls and generally considered the consensus National Basketball Association player of all time (though there’s plenty of room for argument on that score). However, Golden State simply has too much talent. The 51-year-old needed to temporarily vacate his duties because of back woes and until now, he is yet to return. 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. The Warriors realize Thompson is such a high-octane offensive rebounder he demands a specific game plan.

Still, Thompson would like nothing more than to see some shots fall. “I see nothing preventing them from going to eight to 10 straight Finals“, said Van Gundy. “They always push themselves to new limits”.

The Golden State Warriors will take home the NBA Finals trophy for 2017.

The less-celebrated Splash Brother is shooting just 38.3 percent in these playoffs, struggling with an uncharacteristically low 36.4 percent figure from three-point range. And once T.J. Leaf, the No. 13 overall recruit according to ESPN, decommitted from Arizona, Alford jumped on him like he was the last train to NCAA title-town.

Kerr was asked if he will be coaching at the start of next season no matter what happens in The Finals. He may not be out there long if the Warriors decide they need more mobility against Thompson, who is almost averaging a double-double and shooting 60 percent while creating plenty of extra possessions with his offensive rebounding for the Cavaliers. If he keeps on missing, the Cavs have the pieces to take advantage of the empty possessions. But if Irving gets going, that could mean the Warriors need to make an adjustment. Just a year ago, business manager Carter suggested James’ lifetime endorsement deal with Nike may top $1 billion, making it the largest in the history of the company.

And, in a series that is expected to go six or seven games, that game could be the difference. It’s in the eye of the beholder whether Green still has something to atone for or not, but he probably feels he does – and now he has that chance.

In the same manner, keys to victory for Golden State also rest upon three critical players.

Both are ahead of Tom Brady and Serena Williams while neither could top the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Roger Federer, Phil Mickelson, Neymar or Usain Bolt. He’s even the team leader in assists. Green has also proven he doesn’t have to score to contribute. One could argue Curry didn’t have that the first two years.