ESPN compiled expert picks from around the league for the NBA Finals, and the majority of them are picking the Warriors to beat the Cavaliers again.
The NBA Finals will be nothing short of spectacular this year, and it will be an immediate rematch of last year’s epic contest between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers come in to this year’s finals in better shape than they were last year. They have their Big Three healthy, a new coach, and they’ve been shooting the ball at an exceptional rate in these playoffs. The addition of Channing Frye at the trade deadline has really helped in that regard, in addition to providing better depth than they had last year.
But as much as the Cavaliers have improved, so have the Warriors. They posted the best regular season record of all-time at 73-9, and have overcome serious adversity in these playoffs. They had to cope without Steph Curry for practically the first two rounds, then had their backs against the wall when they fell behind 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. But they stormed back to win that series, becoming just the 10th team to come back from a 3-1 deficit.
There’s no shortage of great storylines in this year’s Finals, and it should make for a better series than last year. But even so, not many NBA experts are giving the Cavaliers a chance to win. In fact, ESPN tallied everyone’s picks, and out of 29 people, only 7 of them are picking Cleveland to get it done. That comes out to a total of 24.1%.
That being said, everyone expects this series to be close. Of all the expert picks, only one (Tom Haberstroh) is picking the Warriors to win in five games, while everyone else thinks it will be finished in six or seven.
The last team to repeat as champions were the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, but winning it the second time around hardly came easy. LeBron James put on a masterful performance last year and won two games practically by himself. But the Warriors are a much more battle-tested group this time around, and have proven that they can overcome serious adversity.
If the Warriors win it this year, then they will go down as the greatest team of all time. If LeBron brings a championship to Cleveland, then he will be one of the three greatest players in history. Whatever happens, it should make for great television.
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