Fansided

2015 NBA Finals: Guide for beginners

By Stu White

Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; A view of the NBA Finals logo before game five of the 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; A view of the NBA Finals logo before game five of the 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13), guard J.R. Smith (5), forward LeBron James (23) and guard Iman Shumpert (4) react from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
May 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13), guard J.R. Smith (5), forward LeBron James (23) and guard Iman Shumpert (4) react from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Since there’s not enough space here to cover each and every supporting player for both teams, we’ll keep the rundowns short and to the point.

We’ll start with the Cavaliers. Backing up LeBron in his quest for his third NBA title are, in no particular order: Kyrie Irving (ankle-breaking extraordinaire, Uncle Drew from the Pepsi ads, currently coming off injury); J.R. Smith (streaky shooter who has been on a roll from behind the arc during the postseason, master of social media); Iman Shumpert (style maven, hyperactive defender); Timofey Mozgov (has gone from That Guy Blake Griffin Utterly Embarrassed to valuable inside presence for a championship contender); Matthew Dellavedova (the most hated man in Atlanta); Kendrik Perkins (escaped lab experiment from when a misguided scientist tried to create a human who was incapable of doing anything besides scowling and being ornery); and Tristan Thompson (who has stepped up in a big way in the absence of Kevin Love).

For the Warriors, Curry’s supporting cast is an athletic, sweet-shooting group that includes (again, in no particular order): Klay Thompson (one of the best shooters in the NBA, owner of the league’s points-in-a-single-quarter record); Andrew Bogut (hard-nosed inside presence, Australian); Shaun Livingston (no, I won’t link to the video of his gruesome injury; that’s on you if you want to search for it); Draymond Green (230 pounds of hustle and aggression); Andre Iguodala (a defensive force coming off the bench); Harrison Barnes (look for him to fill the stat sheet when the Cavaliers focus too much on stopping Curry and Thompson); and Festus Ezeli (genius).

Both rosters are loaded with talent, but knowing about the players on the floor is only half the fun. For the other half, we’ll take a look at two of the large-scale narratives surrounding this series.

Next: NBA Finals narratives

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