ROUNDTABLE: Your 2017 NBA Finals Champs Are…
Each Wednesday, UNPLUGGED will feature a roundtable-style conversation between all the writers willing to actually respond. This week, the staff gives their Finals predictions.
Daniel Brocke: In the past seven years, LeBron James has been through the ringer. Finals shortcomings, media scrutiny, and regular season sittings have left a bad taste in nearly every NBA fan’s mouth. Through it all, he has managed to lift his own permanent residence in the NBA Finals, a streak of seven years and counting. With the team that he hand-crafted on his back and his Mount Rushmore legacy nearly cemented, James can focus solely on defeating Golden State’s four-headed monster. Calm and collected, and with James as their engine, I see the Cavaliers winning the battle on two fronts: physicality and mental-toughness. Tristan Thompson’s relentlessness on the boards bodes well for the Cavs in that respect. Combine that with last year’s Finals in which LeBron and Kyrie Irving put a psychological strain on Steph Curry, arguably the Warriors’ most impactful player even with the addition of Durant, and you have a huge threat in Cleveland. In addition, the recent resurgence of Kevin Love as a viable scoring threat gives even more consistency to the Cavaliers’ offense. While the unbelievable offensive talent that the Warriors possess cannot be ignored, I believe Klay Thompson’s recent slump leaves them vulnerable as they don’t have a consistent third option. As the games go on and the pressure begins to rise, it’s clear that the Cavaliers have a slight edge on the Warriors in the mental game. I predict seven gritty and physical games with the Cavaliers ultimately coming out on top.
JP: If you asked me before the playoffs who would be crowned champs, my answer would be very blatant: Warriors in 5. The Cavs were a terrible defensive team going into the playoffs and I couldn’t see them beating a loaded Warriors team. That being said, the Cavs picked it up a a notch in the playoffs and LeBron looks better than ever. But here’s the thing: last year, the Cavs’ main strategy was to lock up Klay Thompson and Steph Curry and force Harrison Barnes to make a play. Unfortunately for Cleveland, Barnes’ role is now filled by the second-best player in the league. LeBron is going to get his — without a doubt — but the Warriors’ Big 4 is a matchup nightmare for the Cavs. I can’t trust Kyrie Irving to guard Klay Thompson or J.R. Smith to guard Curry. Durant has also played really well in his matchups against LeBron this year. Though the Cavs have a better bench, I don’t want to have to rely on Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, and Channing Frye. I love LeBron, but let’s be honest, if Draymond Green doesn’t get suspended last year, the Warriors win in 5. So, I’m picking the Warriors to win in 6 games.
Andy: Warriors in 5. Although I would like to see another seven-game Finals series, I don’t know how it would ever go that far. The Cavs still have deep defensive issues that can’t be changed despite dominating the East. Against what I believe to be an even better Warriors team than last year, I feel we are headed for a repeat of 2014 and 2007.
Kory: June 1st is the day I have been waiting for since the start of the NBA season. Let’s be honest, we all knew going into the year that Cleveland- Golden State III was inevitable. Last year was a series for the ages; this year, I expect nothing different. With the addition of Kevin Durant to the already star-studded Warriors, the task of upending the Warriors seems almost impossible for the LeBron-led Cavaliers. But didn’t we say the same thing last year after they were down 3–1 before coming back to win the championship? Despite what the gamblers might say and the superiority of the Warriors roster, I am taking the Cavs in 7 to win the finals. Why? Because I’m not betting against the best player in the world. Sometimes it is just too hard to beat the will of LeBron James. Also, I believe Kyrie Irving will outplay Stephen Curry for the second straight Finals, showing he should be mentioned as a premier point guard in the league along with Steph and Westbrook. And finally, the Cavs will constantly run the pick-and-roll, getting Steph into mismatches all series long. This should be a fun series — let’s enjoy the ride while we can.
Gagan: The NBA needs an epic finals series to quell its critics, but these Finals may end up being a total mismatch for the defending champions. For starters, Cleveland’s defense, which ranked 29th in defensive efficiency after the All-Star break, has been just as bad in the postseason, allowing an awful 109 points per 100 possessions. Golden State, who set the record for the highest offensive efficiency ever (113.2), has all the tools to exploit Cleveland’s exploitable defense. The Cavs have made up for their putrid defense by scoring an astounding 120.7 points per possession. Cleveland, however, has not faced a team like the Warriors (no one has), who are allowing only 99.1 points per 100 possessions during the playoffs, the highest mark in the past 30 years. Yes, the Cavs won last year, but they did so by making several adjustments. One of these adjustments was leaving Harrison Barnes wide open after falling down 3–1. Barnes rewarded the Cavaliers beautifully by going 5–32 on field goals and 3–15 on three point attempts during that span. Needless to say, the Cavaliers might have to rethink that approach with Barnes being replaced by Kevin Durant. Another important aspect of last year’s series was Cleveland’s ability to take advantage of a clearly hobbled Stephen Curry. Stephen Curry last year in the finals averaged 22 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds on 40% shooting from the field and the three . He has used that underwhelming performance as motivation all year long, and has thus far had the postseason many expected the two time MVP to have last year (29 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 50% shooting from the field, 43% from the three). Expect Curry’s year-long quest for redemption to end in success, as he plays at his current level and not at the level he finished last season at.
The Warriors will go up 3–1 again, but this time don’t be surprised if the Warriors close it out the first chance they get. Warriors in 5.
NGL: I’ve waffled back and forth regarding my pick the whole way. I want to go ahead and say Cavs in 6 or Cavs in 7, because, well, I’ll leave it to this track to express my feelings towards one Wardell Curry II. But you can’t base your predictions off of feeling…right? I know the argument for seven-game series is that they always prove who the truly superior team is. So, on that token, the Warriors will take this one, hands-down. Yet time and time again, a best-of-seven proves to be quite tricky to predict. Teams have enough time to make adjustments, players get injured, stars go cold, and, most importantly, momentum swings back and forth. Everything that has happened up to that point can be thrown out the window.
Sure, the better team often wins. Nonetheless, if last year’s slew of extremely entertaining championships proved anything, it’s that sports are the most beautiful when the unexpected happens.
That’s why I’m siding with the guy who’s gonna win by sheer willpower. The guy who’s chasing a ghost in Chicago. Cavs in 7.
