5 reasons we won’t get a Cavaliers-Warriors Finals rematch
By Noah Torr
The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the overwhelming favorites to meet in the NBA Finals, for the third year in a row. But can they actually do it?
Every NBA fan knows that it is going to be the Cavaliers and the Warriors fighting it out in June, but what if it isn’t? That is an unpopular opinion, but there are clear clues hinting that this matchup may not happen.
Kevin Durant came back in the nick of time for the Warriors, recovering from an ill-timed knee injury that could have held him out for the remainder of the year. The Warriors are glad to have him back, but what if he didn’t come back? Would the Warriors still be Finals favorites?
How about the cratering Cleveland defense? Is that enough to keep them from sliding through the Eastern Conference playoffs?
Here are five reasons we’re not headed for Cavaliers-Warriors vol. 3.
5. Draymond Green kicks someone
Don’t look at me like that. This could easily happen. I know he’s mostly been good this season but we saw his flailing get him in trouble again and again in the playoffs last year, really costing the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Draymond understands the stakes but he always seems to be skating on the very edge of self-control. The intensity goes up in the playoffs, particularly emotionally. The games will be harder, more physical, and there is more room for frustrations to reach a boiling point. Maybe it’s a kick. Maybe it’s some other outburst that gets himself ejected from a key game or draws a suspension.
Variance and volatility can be the undoing of any juggernaut and Draymond has shown that he can inject both in a negative way. It might not happen, and it might not be a big deal it if does. But it’s happened before so we can’t dismiss the possibility.