The Golden State Warriors return to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row and this time Kevin Durant joins the fray to help them dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Warriors have been superb in these playoffs, sweeping all their playoffs opponents. They have home-field advantage in their favor this year and if they win the first two games at Oracle Arena they would surpass the record for most wins in the playoffs (13).
However, this year the Warriors have already made it clear that the records are not their priority. Last season they set the record for most regular season wins with 73, but ended up losing in the Finals to LeBron and company. For this reason, this year Steve Kerr’s men have focused their efforts on winning the title.
Blazers, Jazz and Spurs have been swept by the Warriors, who have scored more than 100 points in all 12 playoff games. Only San Antonio was able to put up some resistance, but the injury to Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker left the Spurs without options.
Golden State arrives to the Finals looking for redemption from last season when the Warriors led the Finals 3-1 only to allow the Cavs to storm back and win the last three games. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green do not forget those Finals and will try to make amends this year.
The addition of Kevin Durant makes these Warriors even better. A team with a myriad of option in attack, a quick-paced offense and with three players that are able to score from any corner of the floor.
Draymond Green remains the backbone of the team and his versatility is key to Golden State’s smallball. In addition, he will be in charge of guarding LeBron James, with whom he clashed last year and ended up being suspended for a game.
Zaza Pachulia and Javale McGee have successfully replaced Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli in the paint and the bench, thus Golden State’s second unit, led by André Iguodala, is better than last year’s and one of the best in the league.
Stephen Curry has also taken a step forward in these playoffs. Far from the spotlight for the MVP race, the point guard has focused on winning and is now at his best in the postseason.
His numbers in these playoffs have been outstanding, scoring 28.6 points per game and shooting 50 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three-point range. If he finds a way to keep those numbers against the Cavs, the Warriors will most likely win another Larry O’Brien trophy to heal their wounds.
