OAKLAND, Calif. — The NBA Finals are being billed as a royal showdown between the king of the postseason and the prince of the 2014-15 regular season.
In fact, the best-of-seven series featuring Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James and Golden State Warriors standout Stephen Curry very well could come down to which player gets the most from the people who have supported him well all season.
Call it The Ragtags vs. The Windbags. Game 1 is slated for Thursday night in Oakland.
If Cleveland, champion of the Eastern Conference, goes on to win its first NBA title, no doubt James will have to give an assist to general manager David Griffin.
Golden State’s Bob Myers might have been voted NBA Executive of the Year for 2014-15, but Griffin orchestrated one of the greatest transformations in the league’s history.
Forget for a minute the historic signing of James, which in and of itself makes Griffin a candidate for Executive of the Century. Even with the one of the greatest players of all time, the Cavaliers were just 19-16 before Griffin raided two lottery-bound clubs for three misfits that James helped turn into perfectly shaped pieces in a championship run.
Credit James, the most undeniable ball distributor in the Finals, for being the glue in a 34-10 regular-season finish that nearly equaled Golden State’s 38-10 record the same period and a 12-2 postseason run that’s even better than the Warriors’ 12-3.
The newcomers surely have played their part. The previously erratic J.R. Smith set the stage for a sweep of the East’s top seed, the Atlanta Hawks, with eight 3-pointers in Game 1 of the conference finals. Guard Iman Shumpert and center Timofey Mozgov, both considered defensive stalwarts, combined for 12 double-figure scoring outputs in Cleveland’s last 11 games.
If the James gang is to continue shooting straight for one more series, a majority of it will have to occur in front of Curry’s friends and family.
Yes, the Warriors offer more than just 3-point shooters, suffocating defenders and a kid-genius coach. Their record-setting success has been shared — and often ignited — by what is now widely considered the greatest home-court advantage in the league.
The Warriors earned the right to host Games 1 and 7, and two others in between, in their earplugs-recommended den by virtue of their 67-win regular season that was a byproduct of a 39-2 home-court run the likes of which was rarely seen in NBA history.
Record-setting 3-point shooting, led by Curry and backcourt sidekick Klay Thompson, regularly energized the building, and that energy was redirected into statistically the NBA’s best defense.
James will have to overcome a lot more than just the potential heir to his throne to win a third championship. He’ll also have to deal with the league’s most fortified palace.
It could turn into a battle for the ages.
NBA FINALS KEY MATCHUPS
Warriors power forward Draymond Green vs. Cavaliers small forward LeBron James.
No doubt the Warriors will take a strength-in-numbers approach to hounding James, similar to the tack that had Houston Rockets star James Harden turning the ball over at a record-setting pace by the end of the Western Conference finals. Green comes the closest among Warriors to matching James’ height, strength and desire, so he’ll captain the Golden State posse.
Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving vs. Warriors point guard Stephen Curry.
One of the biggest questions entering the series is: Does the wounded Irving have the stamina to run around the Warriors on one end and stay in front of Curry at the other? A healthier Irving could have Warriors coach Steve Kerr asking the same question of his Most Valuable Player by series end.
Cavaliers supersub J.R. Smith vs. Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson.
Two elite stoppers. Two electrifying 3-point shooters. Such matchups tend to favor the defenders, who consider it a vacation to get assigned to spot-up shooters. If this coupling results in a stalemate … advantage Cavaliers.
