On Thursday, June 2 at 9:00 PM EST on ABC, the 2016 NBA Finals will tipoff in Oakland, California. The Golden State Warriors will begin their quest to defend their title and the Cleveland Cavaliers will begin their quest for revenge after falling to the Warriors in the NBA Finals a year ago. This should shape up to be a very competitive series that could go either way.
For the Golden State Warriors, the key to winning this series is getting into a rhythm offensively and keeping LeBron James and Kyrie Irving contained to the best of their ability. As for the Cavaliers, the key to this series will be to get LeBron James the help he needs and also disrupt the Warriors' offensive flow. I will expand on all four of these keys to the series.
In regards to the Warriors getting into a rhythm offensively, they thrive when everyone is sharing the basketball and getting open looks. Everybody needs to get rolling: Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, etc. While it is true that Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the guys who need to put up most of the points, they won't be able to score in the way that they need to if nobody else is able to get into a rhythm. When guys like Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, and Shaun Livingston are finding ways to score, suddenly the defense can't guard Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry in the way that they want to and that is when those two guys are able to do their thing.
As far as keeping LeBron James and Kyrie Irving contained, this won't be easy, but the Warriors definitely have the pieces to accomplish this task. Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green are elite defenders while Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are excellent defenders who don't get the credit that they deserve in this aspect of their game. It will definitely be a team effort to keep LeBron and Kyrie contained, but the Warriors do a great job at playing team defense, getting stops, and creating opportunities to score in transition.
As for the Cavaliers, the biggest key for them is getting LeBron James the help that he needs. If LeBron James has to be superman again, they won't win this series. Kyrie Irving needs to produce at an elite level and Kevin Love, who I am yet to mention, has to play consistent. He doesn't need to put up 30 points or anything like that, but he does need to score at least 20 points a night and provide the Cavaliers with some sort of offensive post presence.
Plus, guys like J.R. Smith, Matthew Dellavedova, Channing Frye, and Tristan Thompson all have to play their roles to a T. Smith and Frye have to knock down threes and stretch the defense, Thompson has to crash the glass and play good defense inside, and Dellavedova has to play good defense on the perimeter while also knocking down open shots. If those guys are able to do what they are supposed to do and if Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are able to come up big, LeBron James will have all the help he needs to lead the Cavaliers to their first ever NBA championship.
As for preventing the Warriors from getting into a flow, the biggest thing the Cavaliers need to do is make shots and control the glass. Doing these two things will prevent the Warriors from getting out in transition, which is where they thrive. The Cavaliers have to be as efficient as possible offensively and do whatever they can to get rebounds. If they don't do these things, they they'll be in serious trouble.
In terms of predicting an outcome, I got the Warriors winning this series in 7 games. I cannot pick against a defending championship team that won 73 games and won 3 straight games against the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Western Conference title. The way the Warriors battled to win that series was incredible and certainly should make them the favorites to win this series. The Cavaliers were impressive against the Raptors as well, but the Warriors were even more impressive against a much more difficult opponent.
I certainly believe the Cavaliers can win this series since I picked them to win the title last year and unlike last year, they are healthy this time. It's just that the Warriors have this aura of invincibility about them and they also have the home court advantage. When the going gets tough, the Warriors keep finding ways to rise to the occasion and I trust that should the going get tough for them against the Cavaliers, they will find a way to pull through once more.
Note: Click here to see the full 2016 NBA Finals schedule
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