Tonight we finally get the long-awaited rematch. This might be the most anticipated rematch in the history of sports. Reigning champions, Golden State Warriors, get to defend their title and become the greatest team in NBA history. If Golden State wins the championship it will be quite hard to argue that they aren't. The '95-'96 Chicago Bulls have been considered the greatest team in history mainly because they had the regular season title and won the championship. Plus, they had Michael Jordan. but tonight isn't about the greatest team in history. It is about the NBA Finals that we all wanted last year. This year's Finals aren't going to be LeBron James carrying the team on his shoulders all alone. No, this year it's the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, taking on the Golden State Warriors. This has the potential to go down as one of the greatest NBA Finals ever. Giving that both teams are healthy makes it an instant classic before the ball is even tipped.
I'm not really into predicting championships that are won by playing in a series. I prefer to go game by game because it gives you a clearer indicator of what can happen the next game. Just for the hell of it, I'll say the Cavaliers win it in 7. Okay, so that was fun, now let's get into previewing Game 1.
Game 1 kicks off the series in Oakland at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors have been dominant for the most part and have only lost once in the playoffs. They have only lost three times at home with two of those games coming in the regular season. They have all the pieces to win tonight, the fans, Curry, Kerr, Thompson, and Green. This will be the biggest challenge the Warriors have faced this season. Look for the Warriors to keep their game plan of spreading the floor and going for the long ball. They will need to put Iguodala in the paint for rebounds because if the Warriors don't make their shots they will have a hard time grabbing those offensive rebounds away from the Cavs. Draymond Green will need to keep his cool in this game as well. The Warriors cannot afford to lose him to a stupid flagrant foul. If the Warriors want to win tonight, they will need everyone to be on a collective page.
The Cavaliers are coming off one of the most impressive performances in playoff history, winning 10 in a row. They had a bit of a hiccup against the Raptors, and regardless of how you felt about those two losses, the Raptors are a much better team than they used to be in the past. LeBron will need to let his leadership abilities shine tonight. I'm not saying he will need to take over the game, but he will definitely need to be the guiding force behind the team. With Kyrie and Love both healthy, you can expect the Cavs to make this a very difficult game for the Warriors to win. I think the Cavs need to have LeBron, Love, and Tristan Thompson stay down low and take it Green. Go to work on him, frustrate him, get him to do something stupid. If you can take Green out of the game, then you can focus more on Curry and Clay. Granted Love isn't much of a post guy, but if you can use LeBron in the paint, it opens up Love and Irving for more chances to hit three's.
This will be a very exciting game tonight, and should not disappoint in anyway. I will make this prediction. This will be the highest rated NBA Finals Game 1 in history. Now, for my prediction of the game itself. Look for the Warriors to continue their dominance at home and come away with a victory against the Cavs. The Warriors will take a one game lead in the series, by a score of 111-108.
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