NBA Finals 2017: 5 big questions for Warriors vs. Cavaliers matchup
By John Buhler
4. Will health negatively impact this series?
Injuries are part of the game, but can we PLEASE not have any of them in the 2017 NBA Finals. Most of America will be tuning into see the Cavaliers versus the Warriors. We need to see both teams at full strength.
The first meeting between these two basketball powers saw Golden State handle Cleveland in six largely because James had no help. Power forward Kevin Love was injured in the conference quarterfinals after getting tangled up with Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk. Point guard Kyrie Irving succumbed to a knee injury in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. James had to lean on backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova to be his trusted sidekick.
Last year, Golden State saw its power forward Draymond Green get suspended for Game 5 after an altercation with James in garbage time. Game 5 continued to be not kind for the Warriors, as center Andrew Bogut wrecked his knee going up for a rebound. Once Bogut was down for the count, Cleveland slowly took over and won an improbable three games facing elimination.
Bogut, now technically with the Cavaliers, played a grand total of two minutes before getting hurt for the season. Outside of his injury, Cleveland looks to be in pretty good shape physically. Apparently James and backup point guard Deron Williams dealt with a flu bug in the Eastern Conference Finals, but seem to be fully back for the only series that matters.
Golden State isn’t at 100 percent, but about as good as it can be heading into the NBA Finals. Center Zaza Pachulia is dealing with a heel contusion he suffered in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Durant has been dealing with a knee injury he suffered against his hometown Washington Wizards a few months ago in D.C. Golden State will have a week off to get as close to 100 percent as it can get. We don’t need any injuries in this series, just good NBA playoff basketball.