The NBA Finals matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers is set. Here are five reasons why the Cavaliers can repeat as champions.
All season long, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in the shadow of the Golden State Warriors, even though they were the defending champions. Last season, the Cavaliers were down 3-1 to the Warriors in the Finals before they rattled off three straight wins and, in the process, ended the 52-year championship drought in Cleveland. LeBron James had captured that elusive title for Cleveland and thus the monkey was off his back. All the hoopla that surrounded the Cavaliers, from David Blatt’s mid-season firing, to Kevin Love’s fit, to the lack of bench depth were forgotten as soon as they hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy in Oracle Arena.
Coming into 2016-17, the expectations in the NBA had shifted again. Kevin Durant spurned Oklahoma City and chose the Warriors after their infamous Hamptons’ Five meeting. Suddenly, the 73-win Warriors’ team from last season, just added a former-MVP and four-time scoring champion. In Cleveland, they were raising their first championship banner, but in Oakland, they were plotting how to avenge their heartbreaking loss.
Throughout the season, it seemed like an arms race for the NBA Finals. Everyone had accepted that the Cavs and Dubs would be in the Finals, it was just a matter of which role players would be added as depth on those two teams. After LeBron’s public request of a backup point guard, GM David Griffin went to work and picked up Kyle Korver and Deron Williams. The Warriors were integrating all their free-agent acquisitions, David West, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, etc. into the lineup. The teams in Oakland and Cleveland were on a collision course for the NBA Finals and everything else was just a big preseason.
These teams are fully healthy, peaking at the right time and star-studded. According to Las Vegas, the Cavaliers only have a 29 percent chance to win the series and are heavy underdogs against Golden State. But here’s five reasons why they can repeat as champions.
5. Tristan Thompson’s defense and rebounding
Like Stephen A. Smith often proclaims, “Tristan Thompson is a man amongst boys!” That’s exactly the way that the Cavaliers’ center has been playing throughout the playoffs. He’s been their last line of defense, their best rebounder and the guts and glue of this Cavaliers’ team. Every championship team needs a player like Thompson. Someone who doesn’t get in the limelight, but does all the dirty work.
Golden State’s big weakness during this season has been rebounding and particularly offensive rebounding. During the regular season, the Warriors were 19th in the league for offensive rebounding and seventh for total rebounding. These are areas that Tristan Thompson can exploit the Warriors.
Double-T, as LeBron likes to call him, will probably matched up on Zaza Pachulia to start the games. He should have the size, physical and athletic advantage against the Warriors’ center. Cleveland should be able to create extra possessions and limit Golden State to only one shot opportunity every time. The Warriors are extremely efficient with the basketball, but if you’re able to limit them to one scoring chance, that’s a small victory as a defense. For the season, Thompson averaged 9.2 rebounds per game, 3.7 of them coming on the offensive glass. Against Golden State, although it’s only a two-game sample size, Thompson was able to grab eight offensive rebounds total. Draymond Green and Kevin Durant are physical and have good length, but if they’re on the perimeter guarding Kevin Love and LeBron James respectively, Thompson should have the advantage inside on Pachulia to grab boards.
Thompson’s defense has also been largely underrated. Not only is he a good inside defender and rim protector, the Cavaliers’ big man can also hang with guards on the perimeter. Say what you want about Stephen Curry’s knee during last NBA Finals, but on numerous switches, Thompson would chase Curry around and be able to hang with him.
The big man’s ability to keep the Warriors off the glass and also keep the Dubs’ guards in check on the perimeter is a huge advantage. Thompson’s little plays are going to have a huge impact in these NBA Finals and will be the key to swinging certain games in the series.