Also, Lebron wants this one badly. And this is the best supporting cast he's had since the early Heatles. Cavs will need Kyrie to be able to punish Steph on the offensive end. The three point shooting of the Cavs will be very important.

Should be a good series. I can easily see GSW winning it, but I have a gut feeling the Cavs will be out for revenge.

Im sort of neutral on this series. The knick guy in me does not want to see shump and JR win titles but I'd like to see Love and Kyrie win, and Lebron cement a little more history as this generations best player. No, he can't match the perfection of Jordans 6 for 6 and the golden standard that set, but in my mind he eclipses Kobe's legacy because he has not played on as balanced a team as did he, nor coached with Zen. I like to see history made.
There was the Wilt Era, Celtics (team) era, Jabbar era, Magic/Bird Era, Jordan era, Kobe/Shaq era and currently the Lebron Era. As far as the "curry era", its impressive as hell but we have a bit more for him to do before we label him. The Tadem of him and Thompson are perhaps how this should be looked at. Thus,

Cousey/Ramsey/Sharman
West/Goodrich
Frazier/Monroe-Barnett
Magic/Nixon-Scott
Hornacek/Stocton
Jordan/anyone
Lebron/Wade
Curry/Thompson
Kobe/Fish
Iverson/Stackhouse
Thomas/Dumars

Not in particular order. Iverson/Stackhouse more on paper than bling. Rings matter.
As for GSW, the quest of validation is the three-peat standard in this modern era. They are changing the geometry of basketball and how its been played. Not sure it can be replicated by others given the talent they have, and it is fun to watch.

Nalod wrote:Schedule favors the Warriors. If they go 7 games, its spread over 17 days!!!
Wearing down the splash brothers a key. Defensively, Kyrie has to chase Curry. Shump and JR have to keep a body on Thompson, and yes, JR has to stay on point with his emotions both on and off the court.
When the going gets tough, JR usually succumbs to the pressure. He is like the cool guy in class that can't read well, so he creates distractions.

Im sort of neutral on this series. The knick guy in me does not want to see shump and JR win titles but I'd like to see Love and Kyrie win, and Lebron cement a little more history as this generations best player. No, he can't match the perfection of Jordans 6 for 6 and the golden standard that set, but in my mind he eclipses Kobe's legacy because he has not played on as balanced a team as did he, nor coached with Zen. I like to see history made.
There was the Wilt Era, Celtics (team) era, Jabbar era, Magic/Bird Era, Jordan era, Kobe/Shaq era and currently the Lebron Era. As far as the "curry era", its impressive as hell but we have a bit more for him to do before we label him. The Tadem of him and Thompson are perhaps how this should be looked at. Thus,

Cousey/Ramsey/Sharman
West/Goodrich
Frazier/Monroe-Barnett
Magic/Nixon-Scott
Hornacek/Stocton
Jordan/anyone
Lebron/Wade
Curry/Thompson
Kobe/Fish
Iverson/Stackhouse
Thomas/Dumars

Not in particular order. Iverson/Stackhouse more on paper than bling. Rings matter.
As for GSW, the quest of validation is the three-peat standard in this modern era. They are changing the geometry of basketball and how its been played. Not sure it can be replicated by others given the talent they have, and it is fun to watch.

Phoenix Suns Hornacek & Johnson
Boston Cetricks Ray Allen & Pierce perimeter shooting in the 4th qtr. are still best in NBA history.
Philly 76ers Iverson & Snow tandem had a season that came real close to matching Mike & Pippin tandem on offense/defense

- When the cavs replaced coach blatt (who has decided to coach in Turkey next season) with Coach Lue - they changed their philosophy. Thet switched from a conservative defensive team to a fast paced offensive team. players like Shumpert, Mozgov, Tristan and Delly - dont play as much as JR, Frye, Jefferson and other offensive weapons

- Last yr, the Cavs were competitive vs the Warriors because they SLOWED the pace, played DEFENSE, and had several offensive rebounds. Now they want to run up and down and that might play right into the Warriors' hands

- The Cavs might win a game or two simply because of the law of averages. A team with good 3pt shooters can get HOT and win some games. But overall, the lack of defense of: Kyrie, JR, Love and Frye might be too much to overcome

- Ironically, their best lineup might be surrounding Lebron with that defensive-minded of tristan, delly, shumpert and just run that ELBOW series with passing. It allows them to slow the pace, defend and score. However the cavs are paying kyrie and love a lot of money to PLAY not sit the bench

- On the other hand, the warriors have 4 players that can guard lebron: barnes, iggy, green and thompson. No one can STOP lebron but they can take turns controlling him. Zach Lowe made a big deal about who will start (Iggy vs Barnes) on Lebron but i dont think that matters as much. Also Since Moz wont be playing, the cavs wont be able to own the boards.

- Coach Kerr is a nice guy that likes to play his WHOLE bench. He'll play varejao, clark, speights who are one trick ponies who shouldn't be getting mins. When these players play, the other team usually goes on a run. If he can minimize these subs, the warriors will be fine.

- Compared to playing OKC who had the size, length and athleticism, playing the Cavs will be MUCH easier. Not to mention, home court advantage, chasing history, surviving a scare - I think the warriors win this in 6

GustavBahler wrote:The longer the series goes on the more Cleveland has to worry about JR unraveling. A shorter series benefits Cleveland, a longer one works in GS's favor IMO.

Just like clockwork, when you need JR the most he lays an egg.