2017 NBA Finals Preview

Finally! We have arrived to the climax of the NBA season.

A long year has passed since the Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the world and captured their first NBA championship in franchise history, coming back from a three games to one deficit to defeat the then defending champion Golden State Warriors.
Since last year's championship series, there has been a little bit of a shake-up with both finalists:

Cleveland added veteran talents such as Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Larry Sanders, and for a very brief amount of time, Andrew Bogut and DeAndre Liggins. All these acquisitions were made in an attempt to bolster the already stacked lineup in the Cavaliers repertoire.

Golden State on the other hand did things a little differently. They let go of some key rotation players such as Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights, and Leandro Barbosa, and brought in guys to replace them like Zaza Pachulia, Javale McGee, and rookie Patrick McCaw…

Oh right - they also signed the second best player in the NBA in the offseason, Kevin Durant.

The signing of Durant brought about a high level of jubilance to the Warrior faithful in the bay area, leaving the rest of the league with the feeling of an end of days nearing anytime these newly built Warriors came their way.

I mean, could you blame them?

You got a lineup that consists of the two best 3-point shooters’ in league history, one of which is a two time league MVP, the guy who won MVP before that and is the most lethal scorer in the game, and one of the best all-around players in the league who's also a premier defensive player. Just the thought of all those accolades conjured up into one team is intimidating.

That being the case, it's easy to understand why some people think this series won't be very competitive. However, there is a reason why there are those who believe that not only will this be competitive, but it will be the Cavs going back-to-back as world champions.

Employing one of the deepest rosters in the entire NBA, led by the star-studded trio of ball-handling aficionado Kyrie Irving, all-world power forward Kevin Love, and the greatest player of the current generation of today's NBA, LeBron James, the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers are nothing to scoff at.

There are so many aspects of this highly anticipated series that have been discussed all week leading up to Game 1 on June 1st, all of which are important as it pertains to deciding who's going to walk away with Larry O'Brien Trophy in the end. These key aspects involve the following:

Bench Production:

Both teams are considered to have at least a solid line of bench players. The Cavs bench lineup includes midseason acquisitions Deron Williams and Kyle Korver, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert and Derrick Williams. The Dubs bench lineup consists of remaining players from the 2015 championship roster: Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, David West, Patrick McCaw, Ian Clark, and Javale McGee.

While some would suggest that the Warrior bench is underrated, you'd still have to give Cleveland the edge here. The skill, talent and experience on Cleveland’s bench slightly outweighs that of Golden State. With the star power on both sides in the starting lineups, the bench could potentially be the difference maker in a few of the games to come.

Klay Thompson / J.R. Smith:

This is a very interesting matchup for the NBA Finals. Both Thompson and Smith are very streaky shooters, and can set the court on fire when they are on their game. It's easy for us all to overlook Thompson and Smith because in the last two series between the two teams neither player has been very effective. As a matter of fact, you could make the argument that Klay Thompson was the worst starter for the Warriors in their 2015 championship win, and   J.R. Smith was the worst starter for the Cavaliers in their 2016 championship win.

While there is no question that the former is the better player than the latter in this matchup, these two shooting guards find themselves in a similar position in this series:

They both are capable of sparking the plug for their teams, and both players are the dark horses for their teams, meaning they have the potential to make all the difference.

If the both of them shoot the lights out or struggle heavily, their contributions won't mean much. On the other hand if one succeeds while the other struggles it can make for an unexpected bonus for the eventual champion, whoever that may be. Alas, it's likely that Thompson will just spend the bulk of his series playing defense and spotting up, and J.R. … well… he'll probably just do the same if nothing else, but it can't hurt to ponder on the idea that something different could happen.

Kevin Love:

The all-star forward has had his struggles since becoming a part of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, but now finds himself in the midst of the best stretch of basketball he has played as a Cavalier.

That being the case, Love couldn't have picked a better time to return to all-world form with a chance to redeem what was, aside from a fantastic defensive effort towards the end of game 7 in last year's final, a pretty underwhelming performance in the 2016 NBA Finals. 

However, if we're being honest (which is something we here at SportsVille pride ourselves on), it's easy to look like a superstar if you're Kevin Love when you're matched up against the small Boston Celtic lineup in the Eastern Conference Finals. Starting in tonight's game one, we all will have the opportunity to see what Love (Kevin) is made of when he matches up with one of - if not the best - defenders in the NBA in Draymond Green.

Speaking of whom,

Draymond Green:

Ah yes, last year's would-be Finals MVP had the Warriors won game 7 and not blown a 3-1 series lead. The guy who made genitalia - of all possible things - a common topic in sports last summer with his swift kicking and accidental photographic leaks…

All jokes aside, Green is nothing to laugh at as an NBA player. He's very active on both sides of the floor, the emotional leader of the Warriors locker room, and is the second best all-around player in the league (behind someone we'll get to later).

Dray was a key contributor to the Warriors’ collapse in last season's Finals, as his dirty antics costed him an opportunity to play in game 5, where his defensive prowess and all-around offensive skill was sorely missed. As a matter of fact, some people will tell you that had he not been suspended, the Warriors would have won the series in 5 games (not just salty Dubs fans).

In this year's postseason, Green has cleaned up his play, only having 2 technical fouls called against him thus far, meaning that barring injury, he should be available from game one to seven. If the series even goes that far that is.

If Green can continue his disciplined performance, it can help guide the Warriors to a second championship in 3 seasons. Let's hope for the best, because with Dray - great as he is - you really never know.

Stephen Curry / Kyrie Irving:

It's crazy to think that this is now the second best matchup in this series.

These two are arguably the 2 best performers and most dependable players at the point guard position in the NBA. Watching these two guards matchup once again is a pleasure and it should be fun to see.
Last year's matchup showed us two things: Maybe Steph isn't all that great, and Kyrie Irving is a damn good basketball player.

The then regular season MVP couldn't find a way to keep with Irving as he was put on skates in a few instances and of course the dagger three that clinched the series and the championship for the Cavaliers was scored by Irving when he shot over - you guessed it - Steph Curry.

In a small defense of the baby faced assassin, he did play while injured, and it's possible that his injuries are what contributed to his defensive deficiencies. Being at full health coming into this series, hopefully we all can now be able to fairly evaluate both of these players and how they matchup with one another.

Kevin Durant:

The man who made this tilt a foregone conclusion since last July (yep - still upset about that).

To his credit, Durant’s addition to Golden State this year has made them the overwhelming favorite to walk away with the NBA title. So much so that some are predicting that they'll walk away being the first team to go 16-0 in postseason history.

While it's understandable why people feel that way, we're going to give Cleveland a little more respect here.

Durant walks into his second NBA Finals appearance of his career with an immense amount of pressure to exceed and excel in this series from outside voices. I mean come on, you were on a 55 win team (that could have won over 60) that was up 3 games to 1 on a 73 win team. You then blow the lead, get eliminated, and join that 73 win team a month later in free agency. Ending your season at any point earlier than this would not be taken well.

That being said, now is the time where we're going to see what KD is all about. He's a scoring machine, no doubt, but being watched, analyzed, and judged the way that he will be in this series, and on this stage is going to give us an idea on the kind of player Durant really is. Especially with his matchup for the series, it should be something to watch.

LeBron James:

It just wouldn't be an NBA championship series without good ol’ Brony would it?

I mean think about it. The last team to win a championship from the Eastern Conference without James was the 2008 Boston Celtics. That was almost ten years ago. Crazy right?

That just goes to show just how amazing a player LeBron James is. And if that doesn't prove anything to you, just look at his numbers in the last 2 NBA Finals. He was putting up numbers Russell Westbrook can't even hit, and at such an efficient rate, that you could literally see Warrior players shrugging their shoulders like “what can I do?”.

That's pretty much been the narrative with LeBron: you can't stop him; you can only wish to contain him.

Now mind you, he's going to have his hands full this time around. Unlike that last two years, the Warriors now have a guy that can at least keep up with LeBron on both sides of the floor in Kevin Durant. That being said, don't expect the same MonStar-like numbers from James like did the past two seasons. What you can and should expect, however, is for LeBron to show us all why we call him King.

That Ladies and Gentlemen is you 2017 NBA Finals. All these potential x-factors and influences on top of the star-studded matchups and the fact that this is the third go-round between these two teams point as to why this is probably the most highly anticipated championship series in NBA history, and we are all hoping to witness something truly legendary.

Other factors to watch out for:
1. Golden State’s coaching situation

2. Kyrie Irving’s lingering ankle injury

3. An impending dirty play by Zaza Pachulia. (Just kidding Warrior fans. Calm down)

Predictions:
1. Both LeBron James and Kevin Durant will average over 30 points a game

2. Klay Thompson will resurge into regular form and occasionally get hot.

3. Game 1 goes to overtime

NBA Champions: Golden State Warriors
Finals MVP : Klay Thompson

I know Charles Barkley will have my back on this one… It's a weird pick I know. Out of all the guys on Golden State’s super team, Klay Thompson is probably one of the last guys you expect to be the Finals MVP.

Hear me out though. I've just got this feeling that Klay will go on an absolute tear in this series, breaking Stephen Curry’s record for 3-point shots made in an NBA Finals and make the ultimate difference as the Golden State Warriors win their second championship in 3 seasons in a back and forth 6 game series that ends in Cleveland. If it's any consolation, you'll be back here next year Cavs fans.

That's just how I'm feeling going into tonight's game 1, but what do you guys think? What will happen tonight? Who's walking out as the NBA Champions? Who's winning the finals MVP? What will we learn about the stars in this series? Feel free to let us know what you think in the comment section.

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