NBA Conference Finals Preview
It’s a Similar Tale With a Few Tweaks
The National Basketball Association Conference Finals start this afternoon, and there shouldn’t be much shock from the four teams that are participating. At the beginning of the year, the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors were the four teams I thought would be in the Conference Finals. Now, let’s preview the two series.
Eastern Conference Finals:
Yes, we all thought and hoped Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward would be healthy for this series, but they are not. Much respect to Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, who has taken a group led by Al Horford and rookie Jayson Tatum much further than most thought. Stevens is having a LeBron James like performance coaching wise, proving that he is the best coach in the Eastern Conference, possibly in the NBA.
Speaking of “King James”, he is arguably having the greatest postseason of his 15-year career at the tender age of 33. He is currently averaging 34.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and nine assists a game. According to Basketball-Reference, it’s the second highest scoring average, most assists and fourth highest rebounds of his postseason career. His PER is at 35.4, the highest it has been since his last go around with the Cavaliers and the second highest ever. His usage percentage is at 34.8%, second highest of his career behind his first year back with Cleveland in 2014–15, where his usage percentage was 37.6%. Remember, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving was pretty much injured throughout the whole six-game finals against the Warriors that year. This year, James arguably has the worst roster since his previous tenure in Cleveland. If he makes it to the finals with this rag-tag crew, James’ “greatest player ever” stock will continue to rise.
James and Stevens should be the two people mentioned first when talking about this series. They are doing the most with the least around them. I’m not trying to dismiss these rosters, but they are a shell of what we thought they would be this time of year. And to further the conversation, the three youngsters Cleveland traded for at the deadline: Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr. didn’t even play much in the Cavs’ sweep of the Toronto Raptors. Hood refused to play during the garbage time of Game 4, showing dismay for the position he finds himself in but with his poor play, he can only blame himself.
To tell you the truth, so far the Cavs have not needed Hood. James has been super-human and the old guard featuring Kyle Korver, Love and J.R. Smith have been pretty darn solid recently. Even Kardashian ladened Tristan Thompson showed up. James hasn’t needed much to get to the Conference Finals; he needs one guy to almost step up every game. Over the final three games against Toronto, the guy was Kevin Love who had over 20 points in each contest. Love has looked more like his prior Minnesota self, and if he continues his spectacular play, James might have a superstar sidekick he will inevitably need to continue the Cavs’ postseason success.
As a basketball watching society, we should conclude that James is near impossible to guard. He can do pretty much whatever he wants on a basketball court. Look at all the fadeaways he took in Game 2 against Toronto. James would probably attest that the fadeaway is not the most efficient of shots, but James decided to decimate the Raptors with them anyway, proving that he can defeat them one fadeaway at a time. The series against the Raptors was a wake-up call to the rest of the league, an “I’m LeBron James, and I can do whatever I want and any moment of any game,” type cockiness we haven’t seen from James in a while. Honestly, since maybe Game 6 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. Look at it like this; by Game 4, James was Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises,” down in the sewers, and just decided to break poor Batman’s back. The herniated disc was Dwayne Casey getting fired; it just never got put back into place. James ruined the Raptors.
So, can the Boston Celtics do anything to at least slow James down? If one man can, it’s Stevens. His whole team is chock full of great defenders. They can throw Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Horford and even (self-proclaimed best player outside of Kawhi Leonard who can guard James) Marcus Morris at James. Even though the Indiana Pacers took the Cavs to seven games, this should be the hardest matchup for the Cavs so far this postseason. The Pacers got the Cavs when they weren’t rolling. The Cavs are playing at a much higher level now, and James’ and Love’s confidence should be at an all-time high.
Cavs in six.
Western Conference Finals
Some will argue the matchup between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors is the NBA Finals. The two most consistent teams in the regular season are facing off against each other, they just so happen to be in the same conference. This conference finals should be everything we all hoped and dreamed. A team built to beat the Warriors in the Rockets facing off the foe they so desperately want to defeat. But, it won’t be easy for the Rockets.
Stephen Curry came back with a bang after missing the first round series against the Spurs and Game 1 against the New Orleans Pelicans, hitting his first three within 11 seconds of court time. He’s looked a little rusty ever since, but he seems 100%, which is scary for the Rockets.
We all know this, the Rockets live and die by the three. If the Rockets don’t hit threes, it’s hard for them to win. And to tell you the truth, the Rockets have looked more human than ever as a team this postseason. The three isn’t going in the basket as much as they would like. Still, the team is 8–2 in the postseason thus far, the same record as the defending champions.
The defending champs looked spectacular against the Pelicans, proving the killer instinct they lacked during the regular season and through their first round against the Spurs was most likely just boredom. Draymond Green looks elite again and as mentioned above, Curry looks completely healthy. Oh, and Kevin Durant makes scoring 25 points loooook so easy.
Everything seems harder for the Rockets right now. To scrape out a victory against the Utah Jazz in Game 6, they needed an epic performance from Chris Paul. He had 41 points (the most he scored all season), 10 assists and seven rebounds. It seems to be whenever one of either Paul or James Harden falters; the other will be there to pick them up. That will work against almost every other team besides the Warriors. The Rockets will need epic and efficient performances from both Paul and Harden every single game if they want to win the series. There is no margin for error, while the Warriors have a little more leash. Again, the Warriors are a team with four superstars in their primes. No other team in the NBA has that, let alone the Rockets. Sometimes talent wins out.
Warriors in six.
