NBA Finals 2015: Cavs vs Warriors

[enigmatic]

Cavs-Warriors Finals will have all the national media crowning the Warriors before the series even starts. They'll say Curry is arguably the best player on the floor, Klay is the most pure shooter out there, Green is a beast, the Cavs are decimated by injuries, LeBron's shot is broken, Kyrie's clearly injured, Kerr will outcoach Blatt, Love will leave after the season yadda yadda yadda....

But like both the Bulls and Hawks series, the Cavs have not only overcome adversity, they've become stronger because of it. Houston doesn't play D like the Cavs and Curry and Klay will be in for a very rude awakening.

Do I think the Cavs win? I honestly don't know but this series is going at least 6 games. Blatt/LBJ will not in any way shape or form let this team be swept. The Cavs have head and shoulders the best D in the teamd left in the playoffs and you never, ever want to underestimate a team that plays elite D like the Cavs have played since Love has been injured.

I honestly thought the Bulls had a legit shot at beating the Cavs w/ Love hurt and the Hawks would take them to the limit w/ both Love out and Kyrie on one leg. I was wrong, way wrong on both and am done underestimating this team. They want it this year. I think they get it.

 

[Pioneer10]

Klay Thompson?

Andre Igoudala?

Draymond Green?

Harrison Barnes?

Golden State has great perimeter defenders...not too sure how you come to the conclusion that they have no one to guard LeBron.

Lebron just crushed these guys last game. This was with a team built for ultimate spacing (i.e. Love and Irving) so may not happen with these lineups but Shump, Smith, and Delly have at least proven that they are not going to miss open 3's

 

[Mr. Orange]

1993 Finals. Suns vs. Bulls. Barkley wins MVP. Thunder Dan. KJ. Yada yada. Bulls win in 6.

 

[BimboColesHair]

I hope Golden State guards LeBron with Green...means Tristan is being guarded by Barnes or Iggy or they have to go big, which is not their style on offense...good luck keeping him off the offensive glass if they decide to stay small.

But they won't do that, so LeBron will have the favorable match up of Barnes and Iggy all game. Neither of those guys can stop him from doing what he has been doing in the playoffs since Love has gone down (bang him in the post and move him off his spots).

 

[Zeus69]

Curry is scary good, man. So freaking shifty, zips around like a fart in a skillet. Seems like 30+ points and 50%+ from three point is now a given. He's a momentum igniter for Golden State, and a momentum killer for the opposition.

If (*cough*) we make it through to finals, intrigued by how Blatt/coaches/LeBron will scheme to disrupt him. And taking on the current MVP will be personal for James. The series could end up being a phenomenal chess match.

We will be underdogs against the Warriors. But I said it a month ago in the Celtics thread: beat Chicago, and we win this whole thing! Can't imagine the Cavs will let my awesome clairvoyance go unrealized .

 

[World B ThAreee]

In the years after the Cavs drafted LeBron, I always had this weird feeling that it just wouldn't feel right to have the greatest player in the world in Cleveland win our first championship. It almost felt more like a formality that they were going to win. Eventually. I don't know why, but something in my heart made me want our first championship to be a scrappy team that no one gave a chance to win, and I didn't think that scrappy team could be a Cavs team led by LeBron James.

After all these years, I think I was wrong. I think THIS is the scrappy team. I think this is the one. I honestly would not have felt the same if they marched through the finals to a championship with everyone healthy. Golden State is bad ass, but I have a feeling that this is the year we finally get to see a parade.

 

[BA_CavsFan]

I think the mindset going in should be to accept that Steph is going to have a couple nights where he's unstoppable shooting the ball, and then capitalize on the Warriors' mistakes in the other games where he's simply a superstar rather than a demigod. The Rockets had several chances to win both games 1 and 2, but they blew it. More than that, they knew they blew it and quit as a result. Harden was broken in Game 3. The Cavs will almost certainly have a chance to steal either Game 1 or Game 2, it's just a matter of taking advantage and not making mental mistakes (see Harden's pass to Howard on the last play of Game 2). Then things will get interesting heading back to the Q.

 

[mds]

I think the officiating is going to be a big element in this series. Will they let us rough up Steph a bit, or will they protect their golden child? GSW is not used to the type of physical play we are capable of, but will the league let us play that way?

 

[Frank Reynolds]

Cavs-Warriors Finals will have all the national media crowning the Warriors before the series even starts. They'll say Curry is arguably the best player on the floor, Klay is the most pure shooter out there, Green is a beast, the Cavs are decimated by injuries, LeBron's shot is broken, Kyrie's cleary injured, Kerr will outcoach Blatt, Love will leave after the season tadda yadda yadda....

But like both the Bulls and Hawks series, the Cavs have not only overcome adversity, they've become stronger because of it. Houston doesn't play D like the Cavs and Curry and Klay will be in for a very rude awakening.

The Cavs have head and shoulders the best D in the teams left in the playoffs and you never, ever want to underestimate a team that plays elite D like the Cavs have played since Love has been injured.

I honestly thought the Bulls had a legit shot at beating the Cavs w/ Love hurt and the Hawks would take them to the limit w/ both Love out and Kyrie on one leg. I was wrong, way wrong on both and am done underestimating this team. They want it this year. I think they get it.

Just like godfather said too, they dodged all their competition in the West. If they played San Antonio, the Clippers they'd have some real adversity. Dwight Howard is a mental midget, folded like a cheap lawn chair.

The Cavaliers faced the truest adversity in the playoffs of any team. If Kyrie was 100% healthy and JR didn't have to resort to knockin a muhfucaka out we might have swept the Bulls too.

Warriors are a well oiled machine, but they won't know how to function if you take away a major weapon from them.

LeBron's presence and length needs to be felt most on the defensive end. In order for the Cavaliers to win, we're going to have to defend our balls off. That might mean LeBron takes the challenge of locking down Curry in key moments.

4x Akron born MVP versus 1x Akron born MVP.

Weird shit like that gets LeBron going, it's like knocking off his headband or opposing crowds taunting him. The fact that Bron wasn't even mentioned in the MVP the way he should have been, all of this doubt is stuff that LeBron needs to fuel him.

He's rarely like Kobe or Jordan psychologically, but this might be an exception. When he was the favorite to win with Miami in 2011 he folded and choked because of that spotlight. He needs to come into the series considered an underdog.

Then he'll be fired up because he feels very slighted, and he's here to remind the world what his ultimate mission is (was) and that he's still the undisputed best player in basketball, the rightful MVP.

I like when that LeBron shows up. I think he's got a lot of pride in this squad right now, we should be getting the absolute best version of LeBron, the guy who's going to lay it on the fucking line.

They're going to need a taser to keep Tristan off the glass. Let Draymond kill us, don't let Steph conjure up magic and get everyone's rocks off.

 

[Adam]

Shump has to be on steph. Hes going to dog him for 40 mins. He might shoot 2-10 but his defense will be all we want from him. Delly on klay, use his fouls well. JR off the bench to take whoever needs a blow.

I was thinking today that cute small ball lineup they throw out with green at the 5. Please please please steve kerr, put that lineup out there when we have our TT LBJ JR Shump and delly lineup and they will eviscerate the W on the offensive board. That will be the key for the cavs, slow pace, dominate the boards, make your shots

 

[Zeus69]

I think the mindset going in should be to accept that Steph is going to have a couple nights where he's unstoppable shooting the ball, and then capitalize on the Warriors' mistakes in the other games where he's simply a superstar rather than a demigod. The Rockets had several chances to win both games 1 and 2, but they blew it. More than that, they knew they blew it and quit as a result. Harden was broken in Game 3. The Cavs will almost certainly have a chance to steal either Game 1 or Game 2, it's just a matter of taking advantage and not making mental mistakes (see Harden's pass to Howard on the last play of Game 2). Then things will get interesting heading back to the Q.

That's one of the things I've found surprising and invaluable about JR Smith, particularly in these playoffs. He doesn't let the opposition get in his head, doesn't give a damn and doesn't lose confidence. He will shoot through the stumbles (for better or worse given his historical struggles in the post season). I definitely feel LeBron, who has been known to get pouty, feeds off of him and regroups emotionally when seeing JR snipe one at a critical juncture. As pointed out in a past thread following Game 4 in Chicago... It wasn't by accident that James sought out JR when sprinting to center court after nailing the game winner.

 

[Zen]

Watching the Warriors i have to feel that we have absolutely no shot, especially with the state of Kyrie.

LeBron keeps making me do a double take though. Every time i think we are totally fucked he just wills us to an easy win.

 

[Pioneer10]

Cavs-Warriors Finals will have all the national media crowning the Warriors before the series even starts. They'll say Curry is arguably the best player on the floor, Klay is the most pure shooter out there, Green is a beast, the Cavs are decimated by injuries, LeBron's shot is broken, Kyrie's clearly injured, Kerr will outcoach Blatt, Love will leave after the season yadda yadda yadda....

But like both the Bulls and Hawks series, the Cavs have not only overcome adversity, they've become stronger because of it. Houston doesn't play D like the Cavs and Curry and Klay will be in for a very rude awakening.

Do I think the Cavs win? I honestly don't know but this series is going at least 6 games. Blatt/LBJ will not in any way shape or form let this team be swept. The Cavs have head and shoulders the best D in the teamd left in the playoffs and you never, ever want to underestimate a team that plays elite D like the Cavs have played since Love has been injured.

I honestly thought the Bulls had a legit shot at beating the Cavs w/ Love hurt and the Hawks would take them to the limit w/ both Love out and Kyrie on one leg. I was wrong, way wrong on both and am done underestimating this team. They want it this year. I think they get it.

With a hobbled Kyrie, I'd probably take GS in 6 or 7. But I'm sick of people acting like GS has steamrolled thru an incredible guantlet of competition in the West. Things were basically even against Memphis whose tough PG was playing with a broken face and then on top of that lost their All-World defender in Tony Allen. So a team that relied on perimeter defense to make up for a lack of wing offense started losing: big shocker.

Then they play a Houston team which was only there due to an epic choke job by the Clippers and who also just happened to have their best perimeter defender hurt as well as their excellent stretch 4/5 in DMo. So GS rocks a team whose coach ends up guarding the MVP of the league with Jason Terry and Nick Johnson. Frankly shocking that Houston had a real shot to win 2 games so far.

So in summary, I think GS is a really good team that without Love and a healthy Irving deserves to be considered a clear favorite but I'd be very surprised if the Cavs don't put a much tougher fight then GS's opponents since Allen went down. We're going to bring much better defense barring even more injuries

 

[lov3]

Tony Allen was getting benched before he got "hurt". The Warriors just did what Spurs and teams in past playoffs have done and force Tony Allen to shoot. When that happens, he becomes unplayable

 

[gourimoko]

You have to double-team and trap Steph Curry, you can't play him 1-on-1, it doesn't work.