Only six months have passed since Golden State defeated Cleveland in the NBA Finals, but both teams will have a different look when they square off today, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.
In a preview of the game, Kawakami examines the changes both teams have undergone since June. The most obvious differences involve the Cavaliers, who were radically altered by the trade of Kyrie Irving to the Celtics. Irving was a tough matchup for the Warriors, scoring 23, 26, 30, 40 and 41 points in Cleveland’s five Finals victories over the past two years, and the Cavaliers haven’t developed a similar secondary scoring threat to complement LeBron James.
That could change with the return of Isaiah Thomas, which may happen this week, but for now Jose Calderon mans the point guard spot. Calderon was technically a Warrior for a brief time last season, agreeing to sign with the team before being replaced by Matt Barnes after Kevin Durant‘s knee injury. The Cavs have been close to unbeatable since Calderon took over as the starting point guard after Dwyane Wade and then Derrick Rose held the position early in the season.
The addition of Jae Crowder, another part of the Irving trade, will change the defensive assignments, Kawakami adds. The Cavs wanted a player like Crowder to match up better with the Warriors, and he is expected to be the primary defender on Durant, with James switching to Draymond Green. Jeff Green, Durant’s former teammate in Oklahoma City and a free agent addition for Cleveland in the offseason, should also see time guarding the Finals MVP.
Kawakami contends the gap between the teams may be greater now than it was in June. He notes that the Warriors added a pair of valuable free agents in Omri Casspi, who is contributing far more than Barnes did, and Nick Young, who has been a more explosive scorer off the bench than Ian Clark. Golden State also found a gem in rookie Jordan Bell, who matches up better than any other Warriors center against a smaller Cavs lineup that has Kevin Love in the middle.
With Thomas still sidelined and Stephen Curry missing time with an injured ankle, today’s game and a rematch January 15 in Cleveland may not determine which of these superpowers is better. But it could give us some hints of what to expect if they meet in a fourth straight Finals next June.
Just look how the landscape has changed in the nba. The kyrie trade and signing Hayward will lead to the boston lakers finals of old. Theres really no other reason if lebron were staying he wouldnt already say so. He and george/cousins will head to la. Opening the door for boston and the sixers to duel it out in the east and lakers warriors in the west. Lebron has had so kuch criticism about playing in a weak conference.
I doubt he goes to LA. The Lakers, with LeBron and George/Cousins isn’t better than the Warriors and definitely isn’t beating them. Why go to LA to lose before the Finals? Even with a superstar addition, the best case for the Lakers is that they’re a serious contender in two years when Brandon Ingram is a free agent and would then have to shell out money for him.
Also LeBron hasn’t announced his plans because he wants to remain in control of his decision. I’m sure he pretty much has his mind made on either 1 or 2 teams, but if he announces he’s staying or leaving, then the urgency in Cleveland changes. If he says he’s going to leave, Cleveland will feel more pressure to possibly sell off assets if they don’t think they’re good enough to beat the Warriors. If he says he’s going to stay, Cleveland might get complacent and not try to add pieces. If Cleveland’s front office doesn’t know LeBron’s plans, then they might make moves with the idea of trying to keep him around.
Then what was your excuse the last four years? He didn’t say he was leaving or staying, but look, he stayed.
This idea the East is so weak… I’m not buying it until I see it. How come the East has more winning teams then the West? How come the East has teams beating the western good teams?
In the west there are two good teams. Rockets followed by the Warriors. Spurs are done. The rest are mediocre until you get to about the 7th spot and then the rest of the west is either below .500 or flat out puke bad.
The East, the last I looked, had 9 or 10 teams above .500. Even the bottom of the pile in the East, the Bulls and the Hawks have had their way with some of the teams in the west.
I’ll concede this. It’s still only December. Wake me up in March and we’ll see about this so called West domination.
This year seems to be more even, so far, which is making a lot of games a lot more interesting. It’s good for basketball. However, the “NBA Least” is not some mass delusion, so settle down. They even changed the format of the All Star Game this year because it was ridiculous that megastars from the West weren’t playing because the East needed representation under the former rules. Look at the historical stats since MJ retired and then come back here and get all huffy again.
Warriors definitely over the Rockets….far superior bench…..yes, Harden is good….
but, the Curry, Durant, Thompson, and Green is far superior to anything that the Rockets can put on the floor
Northern California media doesn’t reflect the reality of the situation. Hard to tell because Steve Curry is out. Wasn’t Steve born in Akron?
STEPH Curry was born in Akron. Coach Steve Kerr IDK. But the media has what angle? Does SJ Murky News articles still say one thing in the headline then completely reverse itself in the last paragraph? I don’t miss that rag.