It has all come down to this, the two best teams in basketball ready to face one another in the 2015 NBA Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Golden State Warriors, Lebron James vs. Steph Curry, a chance to improve a legacy vs. a chance to start one; these will be the storylines that will permeate from start to finish what promises to be a very intriguing series.
What’s interesting about this matchup is how different both teams are. One relies mostly on outside shooting, and the other relies on a complete game from their star players. This can cause both teams to face some difficulties against each other along the way, due to the many ways they can neutralize each other’s game plan. Let’s look at both teams more in depth by analyzing them individually.
2015 NBA Finals Preview
The Case for Golden State – The Warriors form of offense is almost impossible to stop; the only ones that can truly beat them are themselves. Outside shooting will always be the key for them. It opens up everything else they do on offense, from spacing the floor to attacking the rim. The Warriors are also very effective in running a high paced transition offense, one of the areas the Cavaliers have a chance to neutralize by protecting the basket with their big men and defending well one on one.
Defensively the Warriors are a great team, but they have yet to face a player as experienced as Lebron James in the playoffs, and Kyrie Irving should also receive much attention from them. Expect a lot of double teams on James in order to force him to pass the ball more, which can also free up Irving, but it’s a gamble they need to take.
We all know what Steph Curry can do and what a great player he is, but more important for the Warriors should be Klay Thompson. He needs to perform at a high level and step up his game. The same thing goes to the Warriors’ bench.
Overall, great defense on James and Irving, the spacing of the floor with superb shooting, and transition points will be the key for the Warrior’s success this NBA Finals.
The Case for the Cavs – Lebron James is still the best player of the world, and the Cavs will go wherever he takes them. He has been incredible in these playoffs, doing everything in order for his team to win as shown in the Eastern Conference Finals playing with an injured Irving and no Kevin Love. With that being said, James needs to perform on a higher level than he has in order to beat a team like the Warriors, both offensively and defensively.
Defensively the Cavs have been playing very solid, forcing turnovers, protecting the rim, and doing a great job in transition. They must maintain the same level of aggressiveness against Golden State.
Their bench has also improved greatly these playoffs, and the acquisitions of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were made for this purpose. They need their outside shooting to be effective in order to win. Matthew Dellavedova’s performance in the Conference Finals has also added more depth to the bench, making the Cavs more flexible and becoming a reliable player, allowing the bench to rotate more.
All these components should be very much a priority for the Cavs, but none are as key as the performance of Kyrie Irving in this series. Lebron James cannot defeat a team as talented and united like the Warriors all by himself; Irving needs to perform at a high level in order for the Cavs to win no matter what.
The Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6
This series will come down to the role player that performs the best. Between Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving, I see Irving performing at a much higher level. While still nursing an injury he suffered in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Bulls, he has the time to recover properly from the injury and be ready by the start of the series. The experience of Lebron James in the Finals will also be an important factor in their victory compared the Warriors inexperience at this stage. Their role players have also been performing much better than those of the Warriors. Their defense in these playoffs has been one of the best, and against a team like the Warriors I expect it to be very effective, neutralizing their shooting game to some extent, and handling transitions well. It will not be easy for the Cavaliers to win this series. There’s no doubt in my mind the Golden State Warriors are the better team. Steve Kerr has made tremendous improvements to their defense and confidence, turning them into a championship caliber team. Plenty of things need to go their way in order to make it happen, but with Lebron James’ determination to get a title for the city of Cleveland, and Kyrie Irving’s performance, I see the Cleveland Cavaliers being crowned the 2015 NBA Champions.
