After a dominating 118 to 88 victory over the top seeded Atlanta Hawks, the Cleveland Cavaliers are headed back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007. There are so many great storylines that follow this Cavalier team, such as the midseason trade to bring in three former Knicks, Timofey Mozgov, JR Smith, and Iman Shumpert, as well as the coaching drama regarding David Blatt; however, no storyline can even compare to the return of LeBron James to the city he once left in pieces. In the years following his departure to Miami, Cleveland struggled to win 25 games as they relied on Andrew Bynum to save the franchise. Now with Lebron James back in town, the Cavaliers are back in the NBA Finals – what a turnaround.
With a sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavs improved to an incredible 12-2 in the playoffs this year. Keep in mind, Cleveland was without All-Star power forward Kevin Love for all of the Bulls and Hawks series, yet it didn’t seem to affect them one bit. If anything, the absence of Love in the lineup seemed to benefit the Cavs, giving more opportunities for JR Smith to hoist up (and make) three pointers. Tristan Thompson filled in for Love at power forward tremendously, dominating the boards both offensively and defensively. Even Kyrie Irving missed two games in the Eastern Conference Finals against Atlanta, but LeBron James and backup point guard (and my favorite player in the NBA) Matthew Dellavedova more than made up for his absence. Every way you look at it, the Cavaliers ability to run through the East was extremely impressive.
For all of the criticism that LeBron James gets, he deserves a ton of credit. With Kevin Love sidelined and Kyrie Irving banged up, James turned into a superhero for the Conference Finals, battling through multiple injuries that were clearly bothering him. James refused to give in to the injuries, averaging 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists per game in the East Finals against Atlanta. He changed the entire basketball culture of this organization, installing a winning attitude in every one of his teammates. He will be making his fifth consecutive NBA Finals appearance, as will James Jones, which is a feat that Jordan, Bird, and Magic never accomplished in their illustrious careers. For at least tonight, the NBA and its fans should be able to recognize how special of a talent James is and how large of an impact he has had on our league.
The Cavaliers will have to wait to see who they will play in the NBA Finals, but all signs point to a showdown against the Golden State Warriors and MVP Stephen Curry – man, what a series that would be. As for now, let’s welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers back to the NBA Finals! Congrats Cleveland!
