The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers look to be headed to a third NBA Finals each, as both teams, as of now, are 7-0 in the playoffs. Both have been showing their dominance in their respective conferences, and it does not look like any other team can put up a fight.
For the Warriors, they swept the Blazers in the first round, no game being close. In the first game, Draymond Green showed his importance to the team, as he posted a near triple double, with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists. In the second game at Oracle Arena, the Golden State defense was superb, holding the Blazers to 33% shooting, and only 81 points. The third game was perhaps the most exciting, with the Warriors being down 16 points in the third quarter, rallied back to win 119-113. Finally, Curry put the dagger to the Blazers’ hearts in Game 4, with 37 points, to end their season. The Warriors then moved on to the second round, off of a week’s rest, facing a tired Jazz team that just went to 7 games with the Clippers. The Jazz ran out of gas quickly, and the Warriors played great, with a franchise low 7 turnovers. The second game was also a blowout, as the Warriors won 115-94. The third game was interesting, as the Jazz took their first lead of the series into the half. This did not prevent Kevin Durant, who, while Curry and Thompson were having off nights, exploded for 38 points and 13 rebounds. He did this while trash talking the Jazz mascot and a few fans. As of now, this Warriors team looks to be too much for any team in the Western Conference. You cannot stop their offense, with Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant shooting lights out. On the defensive end, they are superb, led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Draymond Green. It will be a miracle if this team does not make it to the NBA Finals, barring any injuries.
Meanwhile, the Cavs have had plenty of success as well. Early in a predictions article, I said the Cavs would not make the Finals. Can I take that back? This team has really flipped the switch, especially on defense. Brian Windhorst of ESPN tells us that the Cavs have been practicing defensive schemes, such as the doubling of Paul George and Demar Derozan that we see in this series, all throughout the regular season, just for the playoffs. The Cavs had a shaky start to the playoffs, winning Game 1 vs the Pacers 109-108, with CJ Miles missing a wide open game winner. They then won another close one, 117-111, with the Big 3 combining for 89 points. Then they made a historic comeback in Game 3, erasing the largest halftime deficit of 25 points in NBA history. They then closed it out in Game 4 again, with LeBron making a clutch jumper to seal the sweep. LeBron was excellent in this series, but is outshining himself against Toronto. In Game 1, the Cavs blew Toronto out, LeBron posting 35 points and 10 rebounds. Game 2 put up another Cavs blowout, LeBron meanwhile putting up 39 points on just 14 shots. Game 3 was tightly contested! Well, for the first three quarters. Then, the Cavs went on a 20-3 run to seal the Game 3 victory. LeBron has been playing supernaturally so far in these playoffs, and it doesn’t look like anyone is going to stop him.
A Part III Cavs Warriors Finals looks inevitable. Spurs/ Rockets or Wizards/Celtics are not just going to roll over, but it does not look like any of these teams have enough fire power to put up much of a fight. Everyone get their popcorn out, the Cavs and Warriors are on a collision course aiming right at each other!