We're gonna have a new NBA champion this year. There are two new faces....no Spurs, no Heat...I guess those have been the main two. The Mavericks and Thunder had appearances. The Mavericks are entering into rebuild-mode while the Thunder are concentrating on keeping their two stars in OKC next year. We may finally have been right in thinking the Spurs are over the hill, although we'll have to wait and see next year. Not only are the Cavs and Warriors new players in town, but the Rockets and Hawks haven't tasted much post-season success lately, either. Clippers and Grizzlies could have made it here if some bounces go their way. Even the Bulls, who post-Jordan have been underwhelming to say the least, had a window to make it this year. Who knows what will happen this off-season. There's a good chance that both their coach and Derrick Rose are somewhere else next year.
So how did these two new teams make it? Easy: LeBron and Curry. Both are very talented players. Both lead their teams well. They do things the right way, they're the right kind of stars. The NBA as everybody knows is a star-driven league. The thing is you need the right kind of star to see your team have success. Carmelo Anthony? Attitude, lacks leadership, not a great locker room guy. Derrick Rose? Injury-prone, not strong mentally, fades down the stretch. DeMarcus Cousins? Immaturity, off-the-court issues, apathetic. There are lots of good examples of the right kind of star: LeBron and Curry are two, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant.
But while both are superstars and great individual players, they still need some support behind them. I wanted to break down both teams a little bit so we're prepared for the match-up when it inevitably starts on June 4.
Here Golden State Warriors
G Stephen Curry
G Klay Thompson
SF Harrison Barnes
PF Draymond Green
C Andrew Bogut
Off the bench:
SF Andre Iguodala
PF David Lee
PG Shaun Livingston
SG Leandro Barbosa
C Festus Ezeli
Granted, these positions are just more formality than anything. Barbosa can run point, Livingston can, Thompson can. They switch up their lineups and can go big, small, or really small.
Curry is amazing. The more the playoffs go on, the bigger the moment it seems, the better he gets. He's a top-notch shooter. He may go down as the best shooter of all time. I don't know how many guys on the planet, even in this planet's history, have ever made 77 three-pointers in a row. Are you kidding me?! That's a great shot. He'll have some more against the Cavs in the finals, too. There's just no stopping a shooter like that. One thing that he's proven in this Houston series is that he's more than a shooter though. He can handle the ball, he's an above-average passer, creates for himself and others, and is an underrated mover without the ball. He's a handful.
Thompson hasn't shown up much in this Houston series yet. He had a little bit of a breakout in game 3, but I don't really count that game since the Rockets really just gave up. He can shoot, not as well as Curry, but when he's hitting, he can do it a lot. He can penetrate and is a better defender than Curry. He's a bigger body who will match up with LeBron for stretches of the game. Look for him to take a lot of shots, especially if he's not taking them early, with the second group on the floor.
Harrison Barnes seems to show up when he's needed. He's probably the least valuable starter, but within their team dichotomy, he adds a lot of value. He's a complete player. He runs, he can rebound, he can shoot, he can penetrate, he can play defense. He doesn't do anything extremely well but he does just about everything fairly well. He'll play LeBron a lot as well.
Green is one of the best defenders and easily could've won defensive player of the year. He can probably play positions 2-5. He's not a big guy, but he's big enough. He is frustrating Dwight Howard, a much bigger and stronger player. He can shoot and he can pass. He's going to be dangerous this series. He's a guy who's capable of keeping Thompson off the offensive boards. If he does that well enough, the Cavaliers will be missing a nice piece of their game.
I don't think Dwight Howard is great, but he is getting outplayed by Andrew Bogut. I don't think Bogut great, either. He's a decent rim-protector and has a nice jumper. He's more athletic than given credit for and is also a good passer. I think he and Mozgov will end up as a wash against each other. I'm interested to see how the Cavs use Mozgov. If he pops out of the lane like he's done the past couple of games against the Hawks and Bogut follows him out, it'll open up the lane for LeBron, Thompson, and Kyrie once he comes back. If he stays, Mozgov may have some good numbers in the series.
Those are your starters for Golden State, or at least the ones who'll have the most minutes. When Iguodala and David Lee came over from their respective teams, they were the best players on each. Iguodala is athletic and a good defender who will also see some LeBron time. Lee seems in a funk to me, at least offensively. He's a good rebounder and serves as a great backup. He would be an okay to decent starter, but behind Green, he's a great guy to have come off the bench. Livingston oddly enough used to be a Cavalier. I thought he was a great pickup, but every game I saw him, he couldn't handle the ball. Apparently he's learned how to do that in Oakland. He's a good energy guy who can find his own shot and is a good rebounder for his size. He may match up with LeBron but will probably have some time on Kyrie. That means Kyrie is going up against a taller, longer defender who has some make-up speed if Irving gets by him. Barbosa and Ezeli are both decent, but Barbosa may not get as much time as he's used to. He's pretty old now. Ezeli is an athletic big who will have more of an impact on the defensive end.
There are your Golden State Warriors. Now, here are your Cleveland Cavaliers:
PG Kyrie Irving
SG Iman Shumpert
SF LeBron James
PF Tristan Thompson
C Timofey Mozgov
On the bench:
SG J.R Smith
PG Matthew Dellavedova
PF James Jones
PF Mike Miller
SF Shawn Marion
C Kendrick Perkins
C Brendan Haywood
Kyrie Irving's health will prove to be a wild card in this series. He can create a lot of problems for Golden State. With Dellavedova on the court, you don't need a great defender on him. Irving requires that. Irving isn't as good on defense as Matthew, but he also brings a better 3-point shot and passing. His penetration and finishing at the rim are what make him one of the best PG's in the league. He'd be fun to watch match up against Curry.
Shumpert is a defensive specialist but also has some offensive tools. He's turned into a good spot-up shooter. With LeBron drawing double-teams, Shumpert is often the benefactor. He's shot very well in the Atlanta series. He may be matched up on Curry when Curry hits a couple shots. He's also a good match for Thompson and could take him out of the game similarly to what he did with Korver when he was healthy.
LeBron is the greatest player on the planet. He always has been since he took the torch from Kobe. As a Miami Heat player, no Cavalier fan wanted to admit it but we knew it was true. It wouldn't have hurt as much as it did when he left if he wasn't that great. He's learned what it takes to win a championship and how to be a better leader. He's got a great supporting cast around him. I think the biggest factor that will tip the favor in this series is who does a better job on the other team's superstar. With different looks on LeBron from Golden State, he'll have to constantly adjust his offensive game to what they're doing defensively. He can do it, he did it in Miami. We'll have to see if he can do it again with this Cleveland team.
With Kevin Love out and Thompson starting, the Cavaliers not only got better defensively, but I think they got better on the boards as well. Love is a good rebounder, but not like Thompson. He's also not the defender. Thompson doesn't have quite the jump shot, but the Cavs have enough shooters to make up for it. What they don't have is another Thompson grabbing offensive boards the way he can. Green will be a tough match-up for him though.
Mozgov was such a great pickup. He really got Cleveland to a great place defensively. He is their rim protector and will do a better job than Dwight Howard is doing. He's got a good mid-range jumpshot, so basically he's trading places with Love on offense. He doesn't grab offensive rebounds, but he is great at tipping the ball out to a player. He runs the floor and is an above-average slasher for a center. If Bogut gets into foul trouble like he has been against Houston, look for Mozgov to take advantage of whoever they put on him. If they put Green on him, he won't do much offensively, but Thompson will. Noah, Gibson, and Gasol struggled to contain both Thompson and Mozgov.
The bench is where it could get interesting. JR Smith is a legitimate starter, but to get him more shots, he comes off the bench while Shumpert starts. He'll most likely be on the floor at the end of the game, though, when it counts. He's proven he can hit some big shots. We'll need all the 3-point shooters we can get to match up against Curry and Thompson. Dellevadova will hit some shots as well and is a better defender. What we've learned over the Chicago and Atlanta series is that Matt is a capable backup. The Cavs don't have to panic while they sit Kyrie, possibly for games at a time now.
James Jones and Mike Miller are basically the same player only Jones is a little more refined. Both are great 3-point shooters. If they go small with Jones at the 4, Green may be dragged out of the paint. The Warriors do go small with Green at the 5 but Jones will be able to shoot over them. Miller is pretty much at full strength since he's barely played in these playoffs. He was a big reason the Heat won their first title in the finals. Shawn Marion has also been held back. He has enough left in the tank to be an above-average defender and a good spot-up shooter. He's a little bit of an unknown since he is old and hasn't played much this year, but I think the Cavs did that on purpose.
Perkins and Haywood will hopefully not have to be used much, either. Golden State isn't a big team, so unless Thompson and Mozgov both get into foul trouble, we probably won't see much of them. Perkins will be able to guard Bogut well while Haywood is a more athletic center, probably on Green-duty if he sees the court. Neither are great offensive options.
There you have it. Cavs vs.Warriors. It's a little early, but does anyone honestly believe either the Rockets or Hawks will come back? I didn't think so. I'll take the Cavaliers in 7 but it could go either way. Go Cleveland!!!
