The Golden State Warriors are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1975. This season under the Steve Kerr regime, the Warriors had the best overal record in the NBA at 67-15 and Steph Curry emerged as the MVP. As the Warriors set off to face the Cleveland Cavaliers many experts pegged this series as a walk in the park for the Warriors. I’ve heard several highly respected analysts state the Warriors could win in five games all the way to hearing that they could sweep the Cavs.
A lot of people have put the historic regular season run and stellar playoff run as a litmus test on how easy the Warriors should have it against the Cavs. If you know one thing about the NBA, it’s more about players than anything. In other sports overall team play trumps players, but in the NBA it’s a little different. LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world, and he has a decent enough supporting cast to win his third NBA title and first for the Cavs. The Warriors clearly have the better team, but having a roster filled with players with zero NBA Finals experience could play a large role.
Head Coach Steve Kerr has a great deal of NBA Finals experience but he’s not playing in the games. In this part of the season this is where veterans are leaned on heavily, and in the past unsung heroes such as Steve Kerr, Robert Horry, Mike Miller, and Boris Diaw all have had their hand in helping a team get a NBA title. Experience has always known as the best teacher, and I think that the Warriors lack of experience could hinder them. The Cavs have five players (LeBron James, Shawn Marion, James Jones, Mike Miller, Brendan Haywood and Kendrick Perkins) on their roster that have championship rings, and those players can take the inexperienced players under their wing to show them how to do it.
Like the Cavaliers, the Warriors didn’t have a tough route to the NBA Finals. The Warriors didn’t have to defeat the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, or a fully healthy Memphis Grizzlies. I honestly feel that the Warriors aren’t battle tested, and people are just falling in love with Steph Curry (rightfully so) and his team as a breath of fresh air.
To me, this series has the same feel as the 2012 NBA Finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder facing off against the Miami Heat. In the Thunder you had a young and unproven team facing a veteran laden team hungry for a title. Inexperienced showed in that series as James Harden (Pre BasedGod curse) morphed into Nick Anderson as he failed to play to the abilities that he showed during that season. The Heat went on to win the championship in five games. It was obvious that the play of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh made it tough on the Thunder, but the veteran role players such as Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, and Shane Battier were great as well. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had a great showing in their finals debut, but their teammates failed to show up.
I feel that the same thing can happen to the Warriors. We all know that you can’t stop Steph Curry, but what about the others? Klay Thompson has had his ups and downs in the playoffs, and the Swiss-Army knife Draymond Green may not have enough energy on the offensive end, because he will have his hands full guarding LeBron James. The Cavs face many questions as well, but it’s a little more comfortable when you have the best player in the world as well as four other players with NBA championship rings on the team.
I honestly feel that the Warrors are getting too much respect in this series, but hey what do I know? The Warriors have had a Disney movie like season, but like some movies this one may have a sour ending to it. Respect should be earned and not given, and the Warriors haven’t proved that they are the team that the experts say they are. We live in era where everything is predicated on the number of championships, and with that said I would bet my money on the team with more championship experience and players with rings.
My prediction: Cavs in 6
