Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Cavaliers vs. Warriors

 

Here we go again.

For the fourth straight season, Cleveland and Golden State will tip-off for the NBA Championship.

Golden State returns largely with the same team that won the championship last year, while Cleveland’s team is littered with new faces.

While both teams often times looked like the dominant forces of the NBA everyone expected this year, both have had more instances of miscues and hardships than seasons past.

 

2015

In 2015, the Warriors had their coming out party. They were led by regular season MVP Stephen Curry, fellow “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson, and first year head coach Steve Kerr.

The King returned home to The Land and took the Cavaliers with him to the Finals. Also led by first year coach David Blatt, the Cavs featured talented upcoming point guard Kyrie Irving and the highly touted Kevin Love. However, Kevin Love would essentially miss the playoffs in its entirety with a dislocated shoulder, and Irving would miss all but Game 1 of the Finals with a broken kneecap.

The first two games of the series were tight. Both games landed in overtime, with Golden State taking the first, and Cleveland stealing Game 2 on the road. Cleveland would go on to win their first home game of the Finals. However, that was the last game Cleveland would celebrate as Golden State won three straight to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.

The Warriors effectively played small ball, benching the struggling and lumbering Andrew Bogut, opting to utilize defensive minded Andre Iguodala. Iguodala held LeBron to a measly 38% from the field while guarding him.

The Cavaliers on the other hand, tried to employ their big men in addition to LeBron. Timofy Mozgov and Tristan Thompson had respectable series, with the latter earning himself an eventual near-max contract from the Cavaliers.

Despite LeBron being the first player in Finals history to lead both teams in scoring, rebounds, and assists, Andre Iguodala won the Finals MVP award as the only recipient to not start every Finals game. The emergence of Golden State and their new era style of play would be here to stay.

 

2016

The infamously blown 3-1 lead. Golden State proved that their 3-point barrage offense and gritty style of defense was no fluke, reaching the 2016 Finals as the number 1 seed for the second straight season, and setting the regular season record for wins (73). In the Eastern Conference, Cleveland coasted to an eventual number one seed as well, this time with healthy superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

After two blowout losses on the road, Cleveland won the first game at home. They found themselves in a 3-1 hole after the Game 4 loss, in which the Warriors became the first team in Finals history to make more three-point shots than the conventional two-point shot. Though the Warriors won the game, they lost their all-around best player in Draymond Green, who was assessed his fourth flagrant foul of the playoffs, resulting in suspension from Game 5.

After 40-point performances from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers outlasted the Warriors in Game 5. After another 40-point outing from James at home, the Cavs managed to force a Game 7 in Golden State.

Cleveland held Golden State scoreless in the last 4:39 of the game. During this time, LeBron served up “The Block” and Kyrie Irving hit “The Shot”, and Cleveland finally brought a major sports championship home. LeBron delivered on his promise.

 

2017

On paper, the 2017 Golden State Warriors were quite possibly the greatest team ever constructed. All-world small forward Kevin Durant chose to sign with the Warriors in the off-season, bolstering an already lethal offensive lineup on the best team in the Western Conference.

As anticipated, Golden State went on to sweep the first three rounds of the Western Conference playoffs, the first team in history to accomplish this feat of 12-0.

The Cavaliers on the other hand, came one Celtics loss away from also sweeping the entire Eastern Conference. Aside from minor additions like Kyle Korver and Channing Frye, Cleveland’s core team remained untouched.

Turnover issues and a generally poor played second half plagued the Cavaliers in Game 1. LeBron would fall to 1-7 all-time in Finals Game 1.

The Cavs found themselves down once again 3-1 in the series, after getting blown out in Game 2, edged out in Game 3, and finally winning at home in Game 4.

A lack of offense aside from James and Irving, and season-worst bench performance from the Cavaliers handed Golden State their second title in three years. Kevin Durant was named the Finals MVP, averaging 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists.

2018

At last, we find ourselves at the present day. Cleveland travels to Golden State for tip-off at 9 p.m. ET. The struggling Warriors will return their starting five, save Zaza Pachulia. The Cavaliers will return theirs minus Kyrie Irving.

The Warriors have been thriving in the third quarters of games. After being down by 10 in Game 6, and down 6 in Game 7, the Warriors went on to outscore the Houston Rockets 66-31 in the third quarter combined.

Steph Curry has struggled from 3-point range since returning to the playoffs, shooting only 38%. His assists have also been down about two per game this postseason.

Andre Iguodala has been ruled out for Game 1. It will be interesting to see how Cleveland takes advantage of that matchup loss, and how Golden State responds with guarding LeBron.

If Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant continue their hot streaks through the Finals, Cleveland will be facing an early exit yet again this season.

Cleveland is going to need their heavy role-player-reliant offense to flourish around James. The return of Kevin Love from a concussion will play a huge role in trying to keep up with the Warriors firepower. Another 19 point performance from Jeff Green would add a needed dimension around the paint for the Cavs as well.

LeBron faces the most difficult postseason challenge since he single-handedly carried the Cavaliers to the Finals during the 2007 season. He will have to continue his tear through the playoffs, averaging 34 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 1.4 and 1.1 steals and blocks per game, respectively.

He will most likely need to average a triple double through the Finals to have a chance at winning, but most importantly he needs help. I expect LeBron to be otherworldly this series, as it looks like he has something to prove this season.

However, the Cavaliers’ roster seems questionable when compared to that of Golden State.

Nonetheless, for the fourth straight season, the NBA Finals will feature the same teams.

Lather, rinse, repeat.