5 reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers can win the 2017 NBA Championship

Feb 6, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) high fives forward Kevin Love (0) after making a game tying three point shot during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Washington Wizards 140-135 in fourth quarter. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

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As the NBA Playoffs begin, here are five reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers can win the championship.

In order to properly evaluate the Cavaliers chances of winning the NBA Finals, we need to view things about the Cavs that can and cannot change. As the NBA season comes to an end there are a ton of questions surrounding the defending champions. Two of the biggest are defense and rebounding.

For most teams these problems would be a bigger deal, but for the Cavaliers it seems normal. It feels normal because this exact same problem was happening last year. They seemed lax and fine with waiting for the playoffs to start before picking up the intensity. Everything ended up working out just fine for them, of course.

With the East’s improvement at the top, this year could be different. They’re still the most talented team from top to bottom and are favorites going in to make it out of the Eastern Conference. But there are five key reasons why LeBron’s team can win the NBA Finals for back-to-back seasons.

5. Kevin Durant’s health

It feels strange to put this in the first slot, but with a healthy Durant the Cavaliers’ chances at winning the Finals go down significantly. He looked good in his return against the New Orleans’ Pelicans, but the track record of tall guys coming back from leg injuries quickly isn’t great. Granted, this injury was a strain and bruise, but the problems could still exist for Durant coming back so quickly.

With Durant on the floor the Warriors are a completely different team. Without him the opposing defense has much better options to slack off. The Warriors two best lineups with over 100 minutes played this year offensively featured Durant playing as one of the key playmakers. He isn’t simply a Harrison Barnes replacement, he’s become one of the primary playmakers alongside Steph Curry.

Durant’s health matters because it changes the way the Cavs can defend in a hypothetical Finals matchup. The Curry and Durant pick-and-roll make it impossible to trap and switches are incredibly complex. That entire dynamic of how the Cavs defend the Warriors hinges on if Durant is at his best.