Wednesday, June 3, 2015

2015 NBA Finals Preview and Prediction

Curry has been as unstoppable as LeBron offensively this season.
Even LeBron Agrees (via 538.com)


There has been a lot of talk about why the Cavaliers are going to give the Warriors a run for their money.   LeBron James is the best player in the world.  The Cavaliers have the best defense so far this the postseason.  The former Knicks in JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Mosgov  have turned around the Cavaliers into a sub-500 into contenders.

Still, do not overlook the Golden State Warriors.

  • The Golden State Warriors rank fourth all time in point differential in NBA history. Mainly because this season, they have had the leagues best offense and the best defense.  
  • Their best player, Steph Curry, just won MVP, which has inspired remakes of Beatles music.  I would rank him as the 3rd best player in the NBA this year behind LeBron James and Anthondy Davis, who has witnessed what Curry is capable of.
  • Klay Thompson made the all star team as well, and scored a record 37 points in one quarter. Like Kyrie Irving, he also made the All-NBA 3rd Team.     
  • Draymond Green, who would have made the All-Star team in the East, was perhaps the best defensive player in the NBA this season.  Green after all did have the most first place votes for defensive player of the year, but did not win.
  • Andrew Bogut, the #1 overall pick in the 2006 draft is no slouch either, as he also anchors the defense as a rim protector.  This season, the Warriors were 59-8 with him and 8-7 without him. 
  • Harrison Barnes, the Warriors "5th best starter", is capable of putting up big games as well as he put up 24 points and 7 rebounds to help close out the Houston Rockets in game 5.
  • The Warriors also have the best benches in the league.  Andre Iguodala is a former All-Star who may have lost a step but is still in his prime and would start a most teams in the league.  
  • Shaun Livingston, the 4th overall pick of the 2004 draft has finally had the fortune of good health and has proven to be capable distributing point guard and a good defender with decent athleticism.  
  • Leandro Barbosa, the Brazlian blur who had won Sixth Man of the Year back in the 2006-07 is a nice guy to have in case of an emercency.  
  • The Warriors are so deep that two time NBA all star David Lee cannot even crack the rotation even when backup center Maurese Speights was injured with a sore calf (who is expected to be back at 100% against the Cavs.
Of course, LeBron James is a great player.  Still, this may be where the magic could run out for the Cavaliers.  
  • Take the Cavs defensive improvement with a grain of salt because the NBA teams which they have played are not as good offensively as the Golden State Warriors or for that matter defensively.  
  • Maybe the Cavs would have had a shot if they had a healthy Kevin Love, who is out for the rest of the playoffs.  
  • Throw in the fact that Kyrie Irving is not 100%. 
  • Plus LeBron has been pretty good but not as good as years past, his numbers indicate that he's closer to Allen Iverson of 2001 rather than his past years, which were comparable to Michael Jordan.

My prediction is that the Warriors should beat the Cavaliers in five games.  Of course, my prediction changes if Matthew Dellavedova can "accidentally" get tangled up with a few Warriors' players.
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