NBA Finals Preview

We're a couple of days away from the NBA Finals matchup that everyone wanted to see.   Cleveland vs. Golden State was also the matchup everyone expected.  The experience of LeBron James against the young, up and coming stars.  The best player on the planet against the insanely deep Warriors.  Whatever way you put it it's going to be an exciting matchup.  I've been going back and forth on my pick in this series and I don't think Golden State is as heavy of a favorite as Vegas does.  I have a couple of keys to this series for both teams.  I'm going to pick a winner and a NBA Finals MVP.

Keys For the Cavs

1.  Tristan Thompson-  The Cavs won't be able to go shot for shot with Tristan Thompson and Steph Curry.  They don't have anybody on their roster that can shoot like those two.  If Tristan Thompson dominates the boards the way he did against the Hawks, that will help level the playing field.  He is relentless on the offensive glass and Cleveland will need second chance points in this series.

2.  The Supporting Cast-  LeBron will be LeBron. Kyrie will be Kyrie (if healthy).  The rest of the Cavs you might not know exactly what you'll get.  The supporting cast of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov, and Matthew Dellavedova have to consistently contribute all series long.  Though LeBron can single handedly steal a few games himself in this series, the Cavs aren't nearly as deep as the Warriors so he will need their contributions.

3.  Experience-  LeBron has the experience and knows what it takes to lead a team to a championship.  He also has role players like James Jones, Shawn Marion, and Mike Miller who have that same experience.  LeBron just has to tell his guys to follow his lead.  Experience can play a huge role when it's a one possession game late in the fourth quarter.

Keys For the Warriors

1.  LeBron Stoppers-  I shouldn't say "stoppers" because nobody on their roster can stop LeBron.  Golden State does have the luxury of putting a handful of guys on LeBron.  They won't have to worry about foul trouble considering Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green can all see time defending him.  Although it was in the prime of his career Andre Iguodala was considered the closest thing to a "LeBron Stopper" back in his days with the 76ers.


2.  Klay Thompson-  He is the biggest key for me in this series for the Warriors.  At times in the series against Houston he wasn't a factor.  He shot under 50% for a majority of that series and he sat almost the entire second half of Game 5 due to foul trouble.  If he gets back to the usual Klay, hitting threes and defending at a high level, the Warriors might be too much for Cleveland. 

3. Turnovers-  Turnovers are key for both teams but more for the Warriors.  One part of Steph's game that he needs to clean up is his turnovers.  The one way Cleveland will beat Golden State is with great defense and by creating turnovers.  LeBron and Kyrie can turn a turnover into an alley-oop in a matter of seconds.  If Golden State plays a clean game it will be hard for Cleveland to keep up.

Predictions

Warriors in 7-  If you're just looking at talent on the rosters, some might think this series can end up being shorter.  I think LeBron will keep it from being a short series because he is too experienced, and too dominant.  Golden States depth will however be too much for Cleveland and Steph Curry will win his first NBA Final.

Finals MVP-  Klay Thomson.  I said earlier if the Warriors were going to win Klay needs to have a great series.  I think he will play a huge role in bringing a championship to Golden State.  I see a 40 point game late in the series to put the Cavs away.