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Clayton -
So Jeff, the Golden State Warriors just won their 4th NBA Title and their first in 40 years. I was one game off in the total amount of games (they won in 6 while I predicted in 5), but it looks like I won the title prediction. That means I won… well nothing, but I do like being right. I did miss on the Finals MVP in our original piece, but in our group messaging I said that Andre Iguodala could win it, though LeBron could deserve it. Well I was right with saying Iggy had a good chance of winning, and he was awarded the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP.
What sticks out most to you about the Finals?
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Jeff - What stood out to me most was the Invisible Man, Klay Thompson. The supposed “2nd best SG in the league” put up a disappointing stat line of 15.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 1.7 apg while shooting .409 from the field.
If it weren’t for the injuries to Irving and Love (or the horrible play of JR Smith), we might be talking about how Klay cost the Warriors a title. Lucky for Warriors fans and Klay, the Cavs were undermanned enough to where Klay’s disappearing act didn’t cost them too much.
Steph Curry had a lackluster Finals given the fact he was being guarded by Dellavedova. If you would’ve told me at the beginning of the series that Curry would be up against Delly, I would’ve put money that Steph was going to average 40 a night. Unfortunately, that was not the case and the true stud of the Warriors was Finals MVP Andre Iguodala who turned back the clock with some vintage performances (despite atrocious free throw shooting).
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On the other side LeBron was a beast putting up numbers we have never seen in the Finals before. He still shot poorly, but literally all the focus was on him and he still put up historic numbers.
Timofey Mozgov proved to be exactly what the Cavs wanted when they made the midseason trade for him. He was impressive in 4 of the 6 games, while playing minimally in another game due to the Warriors going small.
Tristan Thompson was an absolute beast on the board (13 per game), specifically the offensive boards (5.7 per game) but he struggled offensively averaging only 10 points per game. He’s not a good scorer but he had a lot of great opportunities close to the basket and just couldn’t convert which cost the Cavs big time.
All in all this was a great Finals, but could have been better if both teams were at full strength. Going forward I feel better about the Cavs chances of winning a title in the next few years over the Warriors, mainly because next year the West will be back at full strength instead of the injury riddled skip session the Warriors had.
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Clayton -
I understand you do not like the downpay of what LeBron just did, but if that’s the case, I feel we can’t do that to the Warriors either. Both teams had easy roads to the Finals and the Cavs had an absolute cakewalk. The Warriors were down (due to their pathetic play), 2 games to 1 versus the Cavs and swept it the rest of the way to win the title. The Cavs were bad, but they couldn’t win another game.
The Warriors were also down in the same scenario to the Grizzlies and finished that series 4-2 as well. They made the league’s third best team (by record), the Rockets look pathetic, and it would be debatable that the Cavs could have beaten either of those two teams in the Finals.
I think after the first few games, the Warriors finally got the jitters out and turned it on. They still had their stupid moments, but the last 3 and a half games it really was all Warriors. So before anyone starts talking crap about the Warriors and trying to give the Cavs excuses, the Warriors beat who was in front of them and had a historical season.
The Finals would have been more entertaining had Kyrie and Love been healthy, but if we want to play that game, would the Cavs have gotten Mozgov, arguably their second best player in the Finals, if Anderson Varejao (by the way, that is a horrible extension they are strung to, as he won’t be dealt because LeBron loves him) hadn’t gone down with a torn Achilles? It is fun playing the “what if” game.
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First off, the Warriors have all the pieces to become a title contender for years to come and are a good mold for others to follow. They built through the draft, made solid trades and smart signings. They didn’t panic and trade Kaly like the rumor was last year for Love. They stood firm, developed and followed through.
Say whatever you want about their style of play, but they scored the most points in the paint, from deep and had the best defensive team in the league.
I will not say they are guaranteed to keep this up, but they have most of these guys locked in for a while at good deals. Their worst deal is the David Lee deal and there is already talk about them trying to deal him, with him agreeing to it. That opens up roughly $15.5 million in cap space if they can find a taker. Andrew Bogut and Iguodala have decent sized deals, but with the cap about to explode, they will be small.
They do have to extend Draymond Green and have already said they will match any offer sheet, as he is a restricted free agent. But due to his deal, I believe his max would be about $15 million a year due to his rookie deal. That is a deal, and if they can shed Lee’s contract, it won’t be anything to worry about.
Also something to watch is what they do with Harrison Barnes, who was inconsistent but had several key performances in the playoffs and Finals. His time is coming up for an extension as well, but will they want to pay him (the extension would start the following year). I think he is a valuable and key piece that likely stays for the next 5 years, but I could see them dealing him if the price is too high (Lakers are saying hi, we’ll take him).
The West will be stacked, but as I have said, it might be a bit in flux. Even if you take off 10 wins from this regular season to next, that is still 57 wins, which would still be the best record in the West by a game this year. They may not be able to duplicate this year again, but they sure are title contenders for the foreseeable future.
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The second thing that struck me was how the Cavs reminded me of the 2010-2011 Miami Heat, or the first year of the “Heatles.” Huge expectations, come up short in the Finals, and scary as hell in the future.
Now somethings need to pan out, Kevin Love has to stay or sign an extension, LeBron too (though who can see him leaving AGAIN), and have to add some depth.
J.R. Smith is already rumored to be opting out of his deal, which is hilarious after those Finals, but great for the Cavs as it sheds about $6.4 million from their deal. Brendan Haywood has a team option for $10 million which is a trade piece, but more likely just a flat decline (becomes fully guaranteed if not declined or traded by August 1st). And I would personally try like crazy to deal Varejao and tell LeBron to suck it up. He is injury prone and not worth $10 million a year just sitting on the bench with another injury. That may be very hard to accomplish though.
If they pick up options, have players opt in and give out the qualifying offers, the Cavs could have a set up of LeBron, Kyrie, Love, Mozgov, Thompson (eligible to sign an extension this summer but that won’t start until the 2016-2017 season), Shumpert, Dellavedova, Varejao (sorry Cavs fans, you’re stuck with that) and Joe Harris. That is not a bad starting point, even though the cap space will likely be tight. With exceptions, low risk high reward deals (think Al-Farouq Aminu’s deal this year with Dallas) and veteran minimum deals, they could really be frightening next year.
That is hoping for a lot, but in the Eastern Conference, even if Kevin Love leaves, the Cavaliers could waltz right into the Finals yet again.
Regardless of what happens next year, the Golden State Warriors can celebrate their 2014-2015 NBA Championship and one hell of a historic season.
You can follow Jeff on Twitter at @Jeffkay1989
You can follow Clayton on Twitter at @19Yanks23
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