As the 2016 NBA Finals tips tonight, take a deep dive into our infographic series preview via NBA.com/Stats!
NBA Finals History
The 2016 NBA Finals is a rematch between the Cavaliers and the defending champion Warriors, who won the 2015 Finals in six games. This is the 14th time in NBA history — and just the third time in the last 25 years — that teams have met in back-to-back Finals. The most recent occurrence happened in 2013 and 2014 when the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs each won a championship in back-to-back meetings in the Finals.
Outside of the dominant Celtics teams of the 1960s, it is common for the two teams to split the championships when meeting in consecutive Finals. Only the 1997 and 1998 Chicago Bulls have won back-to-back titles against the same team (Utah) since 1970. Can the Warriors repeat what that Bulls team did (they already surpassed the 1998 Bulls record for wins in a regular season) or will the Cavaliers be able to avenge last year’s loss now that their team is fully healthy in the championship round?
Team Matchup
The Cavaliers and Warriors reunite in the NBA Finals behind prolific offenses. The two teams have been the most efficient offenses in the league during their playoff runs.
The Cavs have averaged 120.3 points per 100 possessions, on pace for the best postseason offensive efficiency (the average number of points a team would score across 100 possessions) in the last 25 years.
A primary reason for both teams’ offensive success has been their ball movement to create open shots. The Warriors and Cavaliers rank first and second, respectively, among playoffs teams in assists per game this postseason. The Warriors have assisted on 62% of their made field goals during the playoffs, the highest assist percentage by any team this postseason, after also leading the league in assist percentage during the regular season at 68%.
Prolific Outside Shooting
The 2016 NBA Finals features the two most proficient 3-point shooting teams from both the regular season and the playoffs. Led by the Splash Brothers — Stephen Curry (NBA record 402 3-pointers) and Klay Thompson (second with 276 3s) — the Warriors averaged a league-best 13.1 3-pointers made per game during the regular season. The Cavs weren’t far behind, knocking down 10.7 long balls each game for the second highest mark of the season.
In the playoffs, these rankings have flipped, as the Cavs have been the most dominant long-range shooting team with an average of 14.4 3-pointers made per game, including a playoff record 25 in Game 2 of the East Semifinals against Atlanta. J.R. Smith has averaged 3.5 3-pointers per game and is shooting a blistering 46.2% from beyond the arc in the playoffs. For the Warriors, Thompson has the edge over Curry with 4.5 3-pointers per game on 45.0% shooting including a playoff-best 3.7 3-pointers per game on catch-and-shoot shots.
The Cavaliers have scored 40.5% of their points from the 3-point line, nearly seven percentage higher than the Warriors, who are viewed by many as the team most reliant on jump shots. In fact, the Warriors have scored most of their points in the paint (38.2%) compared to the 3-point line line (33.7%). Neither team scores much from the mid-range, while the Warriors hold a slight edge at the free throw line.
Head-to-Head: LeBron vs. Steph
The 2016 NBA Finals will showcase some of the league’s top talent when multiple MVP award winners LeBron James and Steph Curry face off. The two superstars have faced each other 15 times with Curry holding the slightest advantages of 8 wins to LeBron’s 7. Almost half of those games came in the 2015 Finals as the Warriors took the championship in 6 games. Although Steph and the Warriors won, LeBron’s historic line of 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists was one of the all-time great finals performances.
Curry and LeBron are often celebrated for their sensationally unique scoring abilities. Although they are great scorers, both players are also highly effective passers. Both players lead their respective team in playoff assists per game and are amongst the top players in the league in points created from their assists.
Matchup To Watch: Love vs. Green
One of the Finals matchups to watch will be the play of the team’s versatile big men, Kevin Love and Draymond Green. Love currently has this postseason’s highest offensive efficiency (minimum 5 minutes per game) with an Offensive Rating of 121.7. This is in part to the Cavaliers looking to use Love’s effective 3-point shooting. Love has shot 44.6% from three and has made 2.9 3-pointers per game in the playoffs, which is the most for any player 6’10” or taller.
The Warriors will look to Draymond to continue his smothering defense as the big man is currently first in the league in playoff contested shots at 271. These contested shots have led to opponents shooting 36.6% from the field, which is 10.6% lower than average. Not only is Draymond challenging shots, he’s causing turnovers as the only player averaging 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in the playoffs.
With all that said… let’s get it started!
