Game 7 NBA Finals Series Recap

Mission accomplished. When Lebron James returned to Cleveland two seasons ago, he had one goal, to bring a championship home. Last night James and the Cavaliers accomplished the feat, defying the odds, by coming back from a 3–1 deficit to dethrone the Golden State Warriors in game 7. Here are my final thoughts on the series.

Lebron James reacts after winning his 3rd NBA title. (Getty)

1. Whether you love him or loathe him, Lebron James is an all-time great basketball player. He’s maximized his physical gifts and dominates the game in his own way. The way he played in Games 5–6 to me are the defining moments of his already storied career. His legacy is now forever intact, everything after this is just gravy.
2. Kyrie Irving is just as valuable as James to the Cavaliers. I’ll put it this way; the Cavs lose in 5 without him. Uncle Drew made me a believer! He made big shot after big shot after big shot and big plays when it mattered most, which is the truest sign of greatness.
3. For much of Steph Curry’s basketball life, he’s been the underdog and the one overlooked. It’s no secret that he’s used that to get to where he is today. For the first time, he’s now on the opposite side of the spectrum. He’s experiencing what players like Lebron, Kobe, Shaq, and MJ know all too well; it’s a lot different when you’re at the top. The pressure of being the hunted, of living up to everyone’s expectations, and often dealing with unwarranted and unfair criticism. These things seemed to be at the forefront of Curry’s 2016 playoff run. Maybe they affected him, maybe not, however, the fact of the matter remains that as a back to back MVP, Steph didn’t deliver, and that has to hurt. He is a great talent, a player like we’ve never seen in the league. But in the most important series of his career, he was outplayed by Kyrie Irving and never put his imprint on the series. I have no doubt he’ll recover, but this is one of those losses that will always hurt no matter what. Championships don’t come easy.
4. For all his antics and emotion, Draymond Green was the only Warrior that elevated his game on the biggest stage. Sadly, critics will point to his Game 4 altercation with Lebron, and that’s how his role in the series will be mostly remembered. The reality should be that Draymond proved that he is deserving of being considered one of the best players in the league. While Lebron apologists won’t like this, Green is just a non-athletic freak version of Lebron James.
5. As the current roster stands, I believe we may have seen the last of these Warriors. Golden State is without question a superb basketball team. However, they were somewhat exposed this postseason, and you can rest assured that every other contending team was watching. The Warriors are faced with some interesting decisions in the next two years, especially in regards to their front court and role players. They don’t need to scrap everything, just reconfigure a bit.
6. The future of Kevin Love in Cleveland is as uncertain as this entire series was. For now, he can celebrate, but many feel that Love’s time in Cleveland is going to come to an end. Unless he’s willing to take on a smaller role perhaps one even similar to Andre Iguodala, I agree that Love will be gone.
7. The consensus seems to be that Harrison Barnes will be a max player, especially after he turned down a four-year, $64 million extension in September. The truth is he’s not worth max money as a fourth option guy who just had one of the worst finals shooting performances in recent memory. Again, another area the Warriors will have to consider seriously making a change.
8. People may not agree with this, but for all his brilliance, Steve Kerr was outcoached by Tyronn Lue in the finals. Granted he was in a very tough situation dealing with injuries and suspensions, but that shouldn’t have affected his in-game management the way it did. Kerr made several questionable substitutions, none of which were more puzzling than re-inserting Festus Ezeli into the lineup with six minutes left in the game with Golden State up by 2. Up until that point, the Ezeli experiment had given the Warriors absolutely nothing. Kerr rolled the dice and once in the game Festus fouled LeBron James while he was shooting a 3-pointer, and then James knocked down a 3-pointer over him a possession later. Ezeli’s stat line for the night: o points, one rebound, o blocks in 10 minutes.
9. Klay Thompson was another victim to Kerr’s untimely substitution patterns. The Warriors guard started out the game slowly on offense, but just as he hit a couple of shots in the first half Kerr subbed him out. It’s no excuse for Thompson who did not have his best game, but this was game 7, you’re resting your best players for what? Now Klay has all summer to rest and reflect.
10. The 2016 NBA season was one of the most entertaining seasons in recent memory. Going into the summer there are more valid contenders for the title than we’ve had in a long time, it will be exciting to see how the offseason unfolds.