UPDATE:
As of now the Golden State Warriors are the 2018 NBA Champions. Golden State now has six championships under their belt. The Cleveland Cavaliers got swept in the finals losing four straight games in a row. Kevin Durant of Golden State has been named 2018 NBA Finals MVP with 29 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 4.7 APG.
Golden State defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-102 in Game 3 and 108-85 in Game 4.
The Finals have ended and the rumors of where Lebron James will go this off-season have begun.
The 2018 NBA finals will be the fourth straight year in a row that the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors face off in the championship round. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cavs in 2015 (4-2) and 2017 (4-1), leaving the Cavs with the championship win in 2016 (4-3).
As of June 5, the current finals series is led 2-0 by Golden State. The Warriors defeated the Cavs in Game 1 with a final score of 124-114 and 122-103 following Game 2. Each game presents the opportunity to get one step closer to reaching another championship.
Game 1 of the finals kicked off on May 31 at Oracle Arena, home of the Warriors. Game 1 was a whirlwind of excitement from high scoring stars and mistakes which ended in one team’s favor. Lebron James recorded 51 points, which is the first time a player in the NBA scored that many points and came out with a loss. The Cavs had the game in the bag when George Hill stepped up for a chance to tie the game after being fouled by Klay Thompson, who came back after suffering an ankle injury.
Hill reluctantly made the first free throw to tie the game 107-107. With 4.7 seconds left in regulation of Game 1, Hill attempted his second free throw at a chance to win the game, but came up short and hit the rim. The ball was recovered by the Cavs’ JR Smith, who passed up on a huge chance for a shot and instead passed it to Hill, who was covered heavily. Smith, who makes around $14 million a season, has since stated he thought his team was up by one. The Warriors took advantage of Smith’s mistake and came out victorious in overtime.
Game 2 of the finals took place June 3 once again at Oracle Arena. This time around, the Cavs were not so lucky to come close to outscoring Golden State. The Cavs still seemed weaker than the Warriors, who were still missing a key player, Andre Igoudala, who has been out due to injury.
Golden State kept the lead the entire game and took off in the fourth quarter. Golden State’s Stephen Curry had an explosive quarter with nine 3-pointers, which set an NBA finals record and led the team to another victory and one step closer to another championship.
Following the 2018 season, Lebron James, the center of attention in Cleveland, has been dominating the competition to lead his team to the finals once again. The Cavs took down the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. The King is averaging 34.6 points a game in the 2017-2018 postseason. This is the highest amount of points James has averaged in his entire playoff career.
This is James’ eighth straight trip to the NBA finals, but as of now the numbers speak for themselves; King James is carrying the team. The Cavs may still have a chance in the rest of the series if the rest of the team can help contribute to James’ output per game.
The Cavs and James may have been pulling through in prior playoff games, but the big Western competition is currently holding a potential threat at the Cavs’ chance for the title.
The past few years, the Western conference has been dominated by one team: the Golden State Warriors. The team coached by Steve Kerr is full of star power, with a starting lineup of Curry (Point Guard), Klay Thompson (Shooting Guard), Kevin Durant (Small Forward), Draymond Green (Power Forward) and JaVale Mcgee (Center).
The team is very reliable on the starting lineup, but the Golden State Warriors have depth. The team holds even more talent such as the Oregon rookie, Jordan Bell, who was drafted in 2017 by the Chicago Bulls.
Golden State is a team that relies heavily on a fast-paced shooting style of play. The Warriors have dominated the league with consistent 3’s and continue to prove their star power in the finals.
The Cavs have been down 3-1 in the playoffs in the past and have come back to win the championship, but as of now, the championship is either teams’.