2015 NBA Finals: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors
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sleeper
Predictions? Thoughts?
I'll stick with my initial prediction and say Cavs in 6. The reason? I think GSW has a strong home court advantage and it will be tough to get a win there, but I think we snag Game 2, Game 3, and Game 4, lose game 5, and then take Game 6 at home in Cleveland. There's really no doubt in my mind that the GSW cannot stop Lebron James and if you cannot stop Lebron James you will not stop anyone else. The Cavs are playing at another level right now and I don't see GSW able to match that.
How to stop GSW? Don't let Curry score. Put Shumpert on Curry and tell him not to give him a 1/4 of an inch to get the ball up. TT should have a field day and set an NBA record for offensive rebounds in this series as they don't have anyone athletic enough in the post to match his aggressiveness and pure athletic ability(Bogut? Green? LOL). -
sleeper
I'll end with: Is there any doubt?
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Dr. KnOiTaLL
I wouldn't be surprised if GS tries Draymond on LeBron. However, if they do that, I also expect Tristan to have a field day on the offensive glass. Draymond is the one guy who I think can stick with and put a body on TT. I also want to put Shump on Curry and LeBron on Thompson, but that would mean Kyrie guarding Harrison Barnes, which isn't a likely scenario IMO. It will certainly be interesting to see how things shake out. All I know is... I CAN'T WAIT FOR GAME 4! I'LL BE THERE!!! -
thavoiceYou are a little late. I started this a week ago.
http://www.ohiochatter.com/forum/showthread.php?46549-Cavs-vs-Warriors-in-the-finals-Who-ya-got -
sleeper
I don't think Green has the athleticism to stay with Lebron. It's going to be a tough series for GSW.Dr. KnOiTaLL;1731353 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if GS tries Draymond on LeBron. However, if they do that, I also expect Tristan to have a field day on the offensive glass. Draymond is the one guy who I think can stick with and put a body on TT. I also want to put Shump on Curry and LeBron on Thompson, but that would mean Kyrie guarding Harrison Barnes, which isn't a likely scenario IMO. It will certainly be interesting to see how things shake out. All I know is... I CAN'T WAIT FOR GAME 4! I'LL BE THERE!!! -
Azubuike24
Green, Iguodala, Barnes, all will probably play LeBron at times. The Cavs biggest advantage will be on the boards and that the Warriors are at their best when they can get everyone going offensively. The Cavs are too good defensively that GS won't be putting up 115+ every night. I'll say Cavs in 6 or 7, but if GS gets hot it could be them in 5 or 6. -
thavoiceTo actually be serious..
Still not convinced that the outside shooting of Curry will be able to win it for GS. They will be off a week. Will that affect him at all? I think James takes over and his ability to take over, drive to the hoop and create will be the deciding factor.
I see the Cavs winning in on their home court, however if it goes 7 I think GS takes it. -
BR1986FB
I think this is exactly how it plays out with the Cavs clinching, at home, in game 6.sleeper;1731350 wrote:Predictions? Thoughts?
I'll stick with my initial prediction and say Cavs in 6. The reason? I think GSW has a strong home court advantage and it will be tough to get a win there, but I think we snag Game 2, Game 3, and Game 4, lose game 5, and then take Game 6 at home in Cleveland. There's really no doubt in my mind that the GSW cannot stop Lebron James and if you cannot stop Lebron James you will not stop anyone else. The Cavs are playing at another level right now and I don't see GSW able to match that.
As far as your comment about "playing at another level," I read a comment from Mozgov about Lebron's "leadership and level of play" which is making the others "play at another level so we don't let him down."
To compare it to football, it's like Tom Brady with his previous WR's in New England. Except for Randy Moss, Brady never had a true "elite" level WR. Brady makes the guys around him better and play at another level. Lebron is doing the same thing right now. -
sleeper
And you think any of those 3 can guard Lebron? Like I said, the reason the Bulls series was even close was because of Jimmy Butler's defense on Lebron. Who is GSW's Butler? They don't have anyone like that so the series is over in my opinion; it's just a matter of how many games it takes.Azubuike24;1731360 wrote:Green, Iguodala, Barnes, all will probably play LeBron at times. The Cavs biggest advantage will be on the boards and that the Warriors are at their best when they can get everyone going offensively. The Cavs are too good defensively that GS won't be putting up 115+ every night. I'll say Cavs in 6 or 7, but if GS gets hot it could be them in 5 or 6. -
Ironman92
GS has to lead this series 1-0, 2-1 to have a shot. If Kyrie resembles Kyrie then Cavs in 5....but am with sleeper. -
like_that
Man a lot of confidence in this thread lol. I will be the Debbie downer and say I don't think the cavs can win this series without love and especially without Kyrie at 100%. -
lhslep134
A lot of it is coming from Sleeper who doesn't watch the NBA and doesn't know how good or versatile of a defender Draymond Green is.like_that;1731390 wrote:Man a lot of confidence in this thread lol. I will be the Debbie downer and say I don't think the cavs can win this series without love and especially without Kyrie at 100%. -
lhslep134
In b4 Sleeper says "it doesn't matter how good Draymond is, Butler couldn't stop him so no one can"
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Heretic
Well, when in your world, a player is either an elite superstar or complete trash with no middle ground, guys like Green struggle to get that respect.lhslep134;1731391 wrote:A lot of it is coming from Sleeper who doesn't watch the NBA and doesn't know how good or versatile of a defender Draymond Green is. -
BR1986FB
Normally I'm the Angel of Death when it comes to negativity but I just think that, deep down, there's no way that Lebron is going to let them lose this series. The supporting cast will rise up to the occasion. I think it's FINALLY Cleveland's time.like_that;1731390 wrote:Man a lot of confidence in this thread lol. I will be the Debbie downer and say I don't think the cavs can win this series without love and especially without Kyrie at 100%. -
like_that
I hope you're right. Cavs are the heavy underdogs. ESPNs bpi rating had the Warriors with a 73% to take the series.BR1986FB;1731394 wrote:Normally I'm the Angel of Death when it comes to negativity but I just think that, deep down, there's no way that Lebron is going to let them lose this series. The supporting cast will rise up to the occasion. I think it's FINALLY Cleveland's time. -
Azubuike24
Nobody in the world can really guard LeBron. However, I think the Warriors have a trio of guys who can at least not put it all on one guy.
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BR1986FB
Oh, I know.like_that;1731395 wrote:I hope you're right. Cavs are the heavy underdogs. ESPNs bpi rating had the Warriors with a 73% to take the series.
When they made it in 2007, everyone pretty much expected them to lose to the Spurs and it was a "we're just happy to be here" moment. Now, I think Lebron is Hellbent on getting C-Town a ring and will make the others around him play at a different level. If he gets them that ring I'll finally concede that he's the GOAT, over Jordan. Anyone who can bring a championship to this town has "god-like" qualities.
By no means am I as cocky as sleeper is on this but I just get this gut feeling that LBJ is driven to be THE one to end this supposed "curse." -
Commander of Awesome
Waiting for someone else to say it first but I agree. Expect gsw to win in 5.like_that;1731390 wrote:Man a lot of confidence in this thread lol. I will be the Debbie downer and say I don't think the cavs can win this series without love and especially without Kyrie at 100%. -
Commander of Awesome
That being said I'm trying to get tickets to the game for about $500
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Dr. KnOiTaLL
Oddly enough, sleeper's series breakdown is exactly what I told my wife a couple of days ago. GS takes Game 1, we take 2-4, GS 5, and the Cavs clinch on the home floor in Game 6.
I realize that this series could get out of hand in a hurry, because if there's one thing for sure, it's that Golden State can shoot it. However, I agree with Barkley's analysis that we now have the athleticism to defend on the wing AND the size inside to win on the glass. The Warriors can pick their poison with Draymond. They can put him on one of the greatest players of all time, or they can try to keep Thompson off the offensive glass. I think Draymond is the only guy that can admirably compete in either of those tasks.
We played GS twice this season:
The first game was AT GS. NO LeBron, no Shumpert. Cavs lost by 18, Curry went for 23, Thompson for 24. JR led the Cavs with 27, Kyrie with 23, and Love with 17.
The second game was in Cleveland, and the Cavs limited GS pretty well. Cavs won by 11, Curry scored 18, Thompson scored 13. LeBron led the Cavs with 42, and Irving had 24.
Obviously, not having Love is a little bit of a difference. However, while I don't expect LeBron to go for 42 each game, that's a big number against a very solid defensive team. Shumpert didn't even score the game that we won, but he did an excellent job limiting the damage the Splash Brothers doled out. Looking forward to what promises to be an exciting series! -
Dr. KnOiTaLL
Sold mine to Game 3 today for $700. Section 226 row 5. I expect as the game draws closer, prices will drop a bit. You better believe I'm going to Game 4 and 6 if there is one, though!Commander of Awesome;1731400 wrote:That being said I'm trying to get tickets to the game for about $500 -
sleeper
Yeah I'm not worried about freaking Draymond Green.lhslep134;1731391 wrote:A lot of it is coming from Sleeper who doesn't watch the NBA and doesn't know how good or versatile of a defender Draymond Green is. -
Commander of Awesome
You will be.sleeper;1731405 wrote:Yeah I'm not worried about freaking Draymond Green. -
sleeper
It's more likely the Cavs sweep than GSW wins the series. No way I see GSW winning 4 out of 7 games against LBJ in the NBA finals. I mean come on.Dr. KnOiTaLL;1731402 wrote:Oddly enough, sleeper's series breakdown is exactly what I told my wife a couple of days ago. GS takes Game 1, we take 2-4, GS 5, and the Cavs clinch on the home floor in Game 6.
I realize that this series could get out of hand in a hurry, because if there's one thing for sure, it's that Golden State can shoot it. However, I agree with Barkley's analysis that we now have the athleticism to defend on the wing AND the size inside to win on the glass. The Warriors can pick their poison with Draymond. They can put him on one of the greatest players of all time, or they can try to keep Thompson off the offensive glass. I think Draymond is the only guy that can admirably compete in either of those tasks.
We played GS twice this season:
The first game was AT GS. NO LeBron, no Shumpert. Cavs lost by 18, Curry went for 23, Thompson for 24. JR led the Cavs with 27, Kyrie with 23, and Love with 17.
The second game was in Cleveland, and the Cavs limited GS pretty well. Cavs won by 11, Curry scored 18, Thompson scored 13. LeBron led the Cavs with 42, and Irving had 24.
Obviously, not having Love is a little bit of a difference. However, while I don't expect LeBron to go for 42 each game, that's a big number against a very solid defensive team. Shumpert didn't even score the game that we won, but he did an excellent job limiting the damage the Splash Brothers doled out. Looking forward to what promises to be an exciting series!