NBA Finals 2015: Cavs vs Warriors

[CavsFTW]

Assuming both advance, Golden State will be a huge favorite, but the Cavs will have the rebounding, turnovers, and free throws advantage. More possessions for the Cavs, fewer for the Warriors -- a simple formula that will really hurt them if their shots aren't falling. Both teams are reliant on their 3P accuracy, but Golden State more so. So here's their next dilemma:

Golden State will be facing the top ranked 3P defense in the playoffs. Curry is uncanny at getting his shot off, but if there's a defense that can slow them down this is the one. And if that happens, Golden State's offense would look quite a bit different.

Then, there's this issue:

During crunch time in close games, Blatt can throw both LeBron/Shumpert on Curry/Thompson. That's the heart of their offense being guarded by two players with shut down ability. IIRC, LeBron was guarding Curry for spells the last time they played and pretty much shut him down.

 

[TopGun]

We're talking about a city that hasn't been able to celebrate ANY major sports championship for over half a century. Let that sink in for a minute. Imagine having to endure that lengthy unresolved hunger and yearning to celebrate an ultimate victory, only to have your collective hearts ripped out of your chests on multiple occasions when you were a hair's breadth away from winning one.

The celebration in Cleveland would make the Maccabi Tel Aviv celebration look like the audience watching a chess match. The magnitude of the party in the streets would be epic.

Hell yeah. I am taking off of work and flying back to Cleveland for the celebration if they win.

 

[castor777]

A few thoughts about a poential Warriors Series....

* Championship pedigree and the Cavs have huge advantage over the Warriors when it comes to this with multiple rings residing with the cavaliers. I know this doesnt matter on the court but at the end of the day having the mind of a champion in the NBA does have value and the Warriors don't know how to be champions yet. Great team but look at OKC with Durant, Harden, and Westbrook and it didn't even matter.

This is the point that I keep thinking about, and I was reflecting on the OKC team as well. Harden was playing incredibly well going into the Finals, at times it was like he couldn't miss when they beat the Spurs. But then they get to the Finals and... dude was a complete shell of himself. Durant and Westbrook still played well, but ultimately the complete absence of Harden in that series was a major factor in them losing to Miami. So that's not to say Harden = Curry in the Finals, but likely someone on their team will not be ready for the biggest games of their careers. It could be Thompson or Green. I'm not really worried about Harrison Barnes as I think he will struggle (he has already has a bit in this Rocket series). They do have a solid bench though which is another concern, but we just have to hope one of their key contributors isn't ready just yet.

That goes 2 ways obviously, and the same can be said for our young guys. Irving has shown over his career he does seem to flourish in these situations, and we REALLY will need him playing like his old self again to have any chance at all. This will be the first series where we actually have the advantage of postseason experience, and we won't be hearing about it as much as we did back when we played the Bulls. Just got to hope that helps us pick up an early game at the Oracle, and hopefully the longer the series goes on it starts to favor the Cavs with LeBron taking over games.

 

[Xearoii]

Just got my Cavs Finals tickets game 3!!! So excited, but gotta wait 2 weeks lol

 

[ajz20]

Even though it is almost a conclusion we will be in Golden State June 4th to start the Finals, I really hope all of you take the time to really enjoy tonight. As a Cleveland sports fan in their mid 30's this is only the 4th time in my lifetime a team has reached a championship round (2nd in franchise history, DO NOT ASSUME WE WILL FOR SURE BE BACK) there are no "for sures when it comes to sports." Really soak in the game, get your favorite meal, watch the celebration on the court, and start worrying about the Warriors sometime in the next 48 hours, (but not today or tonight)

I recall our first appearance in ECF when we lost to the Bulls in 6. This was before the Internet, and post game shows and 24 hour sports radio in Cleveland. I spent the next morning trying to think of players we could add after the crushing game 6 loss like Blue Freaking Edwards. I remember thinking, I would give anything to see the Cavs in the finals in my adult life. There were many dark years where I thought we would never get to the finals.
Honestly, after the 2010 Boston series and LBJ departure many of us thought it would be 10-30 years before we could experience another Finals appearence .
LETS ENJOY TONIGHT, EVERY BASKET, and not even think about Golden State. Lets live in the moment. We have EARNED THIS!!!!

 

[brownsbuck6]

Even though it is almost a conclusion we will be in Golden State June 4th to start the Finals, I really hope all of you take the time to really enjoy tonight. As a Cleveland sports fan in their mid 30's this is only the 4th time in my lifetime a team has reached a championship round (2nd in franchise history, DO NOT ASSUME WE WILL FOR SURE BE BACK) there are no "fur sures when it comes to sports. Really soak in the game, get your favorite meal, watch the celebration on the court, and start worrying about the Warriors sometime in the next 48 hours, (but not today or tonight)

I recall our first appearance in ECF when we lost to the Bulls in 6. This was before the Internet, and post game shows and 24 hour sports radio in Cleveland. I spent the next morning trying to think of players we could add after the crushing game 6 loss like Blue Freaking Edwards. I remember thinking, I would give anything to see the Cavs in the finals in my adult life. There were many dark years where I thought we would never get to the finals.
Honestly, after the 2010 Boston series and LBJ departure many of us thought it would be 10-30 years before we could experience another Finals appearence .
LETS ENJOY TONIGHT, EVERY BASKET, and not even think about Golden State. Lets live in the moment. We have EARNED THIS!!!!

I'm certain that I'm not the only one that's good advice for. I find myself thinking far too much about the monumental challenge that likely awaits us in nine days and not enough about the accomplishment that we all hope is finished tonight. It's important to remember to soak in the moments, the journey.. this isn't a common thing around here and nothing is guaranteed (including winning tonight) so let's all try to live in the moment for now. I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[Kyrieville]

Just got my Cavs Finals tickets game 3!!! So excited, but gotta wait 2 weeks lol

Season ticket holder? Or was there another e-mail lottery?

 

[Pioneer10]

That Detroit team was better than any team we've played yet.

That Detroit team was better then any team GS has played so far as well.

 

[Xearoii]

Season ticket holder? Or was there another e-mail lottery?

Season ticket holder

 

[Marcus]

That Detroit team was better than any team we've played yet.

The Cavs had no business winning four straight games against that Detroit team. They had All-Stars at every position and the Cavs were fielding one of the worst teams to ever make the NBA Finals.

They haven't played anyone nearly as good as that team this postseason. The closest they are going to get is when they face Golden State, and even then I'm feeling almost irrationally confident about the Cavs' chances in that series.

 

[Frank Reynolds]

Maccabi fans, your celebration was impressive. Quite simply (and with no offense) our celebration would likely be 2-3 times that size because of our championship drought and ridiculous past heartbreaks. America, you think, a strange place for sport how would Americans react to winning a championship?

Well, Cleveland would react a lot different than most every other city. We're going to go ballistic, get ready to be totally wasted hugging strangers of all kinds.

Get ready for people to come into the bar with their entire pay check and buy the entire bar's worth of alcohol.

It would really mean a lot to our community, a lot! Get sociologists and cameramen on deck, because you are going to see people of all colors hugging each other in the streets, on that night in Cleveland there will be no color we're all Clevelanders, we all deal with the same Cleveland shit.

For the times we're living in, with the tension between the community and law enforcement, this would be an enormous victory for the city's morale and couldn't come at a better time. Seriously, it's going to be really fucking cool. You may never see a moment like that again where sport, heroic story, gargantuan relief to the morale of the city, and an ENORMOUS boost to the life and vibrancy of Cleveland in general.

If LeBron James gets this done: call the Bronze casters.

Because he should get a statue while he's still playing if he wins one for Cleveland.

If David Blatt was partying like that in June of 2014 with Maccabi, then wins one in the NBA one year later as a rookie (under these circumstance) he's got to go down as a legendary coach to the game of basketball. That's absolutely unheard of uncharted waters, if he conquers nobody should ever say another fucking word about his credibility.

 

[Xearoii]

Maccabi fans, your celebration was impressive. Quite simply (and with no offense) our celebration would likely be 2-3 times that size because of our championship drought and ridiculous past heartbreaks. America, you think, a strange place for sport how would Americans react to winning a championship?

Well, Cleveland would react a lot different than most every other city. We're going to go ballistic, get ready to be totally wasted hugging strangers of all kinds.

Get ready for people to come into the bar with their entire pay check and buy the entire bar's worth of alcohol.

It would really mean a lot to our community, a lot! Get sociologists and cameramen on deck, because you are going to see people of all colors hugging each other in the streets, on that night in Cleveland there will be no color we're all Clevelanders, we all deal with the same Cleveland shit.

For the times we're living in, with the tension between the community and law enforcement, this would be an enormous victory for the city's morale and couldn't come at a better time. Seriously, it's going to be really fucking cool. You may never see a moment like that again where sport, heroic story, gargantuan relief to the morale of the city, and an ENORMOUS boost to the life and vibrancy of Cleveland in general.

If LeBron James gets this done: call the Bronze casters.

Because he should get a statue while he's still playing if he wins one for Cleveland.

If David Blatt was partying like that in June of 2014 with Maccabi, then wins one in the NBA one year later as a rookie (under these circumstance) he's got to go down as a legendary coach to the game of basketball. That's absolutely unheard of uncharted waters, if he conquers nobody should ever say another fucking word about his credibility.

Got chills reading this. Very well said!

 

[Marcus]

Shut down their three point offense (easier said than done, I know), and you make them look human. These are the two best three point shooting teams remaining in the playoffs right now, and the Cavs are currently smothering another great three point shooting team in this current series. IIRC, the Cavs are not only the best defensive team in the playoffs, they are also the best at defending the three point line. I don't think I need to go into detail about how huge that is.

The Cavs also far outclass the Warriors in terms of rebounding. They will likely have more possessions every single game than the Warriors will, which turns up the heat on them even more to be more efficient because they are going to have fewer opportunities to score.

Another thing you can't take for granted is the fact that the Cavs have the best player on either side who has been in the championship round five straight years now, six times overall. They also have several veterans who have been there and won it all, too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but outside of their coach, Golden State doesn't have a single player on their roster who has ever gone that far in the playoffs before. Several members of this team have been beneath the bright lights on the biggest stage before -- it's going to be interesting to see if the Warriors are jittery or not, given the lack of championship experience on their roster.

The pressure is on this Warriors team to perform. They have home court and they are healthy. They have yet to face any real adversity. The Cavs have dealt with injuries the entire postseason and are coming into this series bruised and battered, and have fought tooth and nail for every win they've gotten. It's going to be a great series, I think, with both teams playing probably their best ball of the season right now.

 

[Rich]

That Detroit team was better then any team GS has played so far as well.

Probably. Didn't have the offensive talent that Houston has, though. But overall I'd agree. They did, however, have a terrible, terrible basketball coach. Looking at all the teams we've played and all the teams the Warriors have played so far, I'd say Flip would be the shittiest coach of the group.

 

[Cavatt]

Watching them live last night made me see that the Warriors are vulnerable. Yes the Rockets shot lights out, but they also defended the 3 well until the third. I think this will be the toughest matchup for Bogut and green.

Defending the 3 is key, and I trust Blatt knows this because he has been practicing it all playoffs