10 Predictions for the 2017 NBA Finals

Tonight marks the beginning of the 2017 NBA Finals and a series where nothing is certain.

Return of the Jedi. Toy Story 3. The Return of the King. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Get ready to add another title to this list of great third installments. Warriors vs Cavaliers Part III.

The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are set to face off for the third consecutive year. Round one went to the Warriors but the Cavs were without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Round two went to Cavaliers but Golden State was without Bogut, Draymond Green was suspended for the latter half of the series and the Warriors were playing with a hobbled Steph Curry.

Finally we have a matchup between the Cavs and Warriors with both teams apparently healthy and we are in for the latest and greatest installment of this phenomenal matchup. The Warriors are coming into the series having swept through the Western Conference going 12-0 against the Trail Blazers, Jazz and Spurs. The Cavaliers are coming into the series having swept through the first two rounds against the Pacers and Raptors before finally losing one game to a Boston Celtics squad in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The stage is set. Can Kevin Durant prove his decision to move from Oklahoma City to the Bay Area was the right move by winning his first title? Can Lebron elevate himself to the level of Michael Jordan and make his case for the greatest of all time by defeating the winningest team during a three year stretch in NBA history two out of three years in the finals? Can the rest of Golden State finally put the “warriors blew a 3-1 lead” jokes behind them by defeating the Cavs? This series will be filled with questions and highlight reel plays by some of the greatest players in the league so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

So with a series filled with questions and speculation I present to you my 10 Predictions about the 2017 NBA Finals.

1. The Cavaliers will win game one in Oakland.

Game one of each series has been the Achilles heel of the Golden State Warriors. In round one the Warriors found themselves tied with the Portland Trailblazers at the start of the fourth quarter while giving up 41 points to CJ McCollum. In game one against the Jazz the Warriors shot 24% from three. And in Game one of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs the Warriors found themselves down 25 points in the third quarter. Granted the Warriors found a way to win each of those games, but they didn’t do it against a team as good as Cleveland. The Blazers and Jazz don’t hold a candle to the Warriors and if it weren’t for a Kawhi Leonard ankle injury the Warriors probably would not have come back to beat the Spurs. The Warriors will be coming off nine days of rest when they take on Cleveland in Game One so expect some rust for both teams but more so on the part of the Warriors.

2. The Warriors will win the series in 6 games.

Have no fear Warriors fans, game one will not be a foreshadowing of things to come as the Warriors will win the series. When it comes down to it the Warriors are a better team than the Cavaliers, simple as that. And for the most part the better team will win the series. The Warriors have been head and shoulders above the rest of the league for the past three seasons and the Cavs have been the one exception. But with the addition of Durant a phenomenal Warriors team just got even better and when they are off and running not even the greatest player in the world can stop them. Expect a championship parade in the Bay Area come June.

3. Kevin Durant will win the Finals MVP

Aside from maybe Lebron James, Kevin Durant has been the most scrutinized athlete this year. Not just basketball player but athlete. Last summer Durant announced that he would be leaving the Thunder to join an already stacked Warriors team. The move was met with an outburst of rage from not only Thunder fans but from fans of other teams as well. Fans were not pleased to see the second best player in the world join a team with 3 other All Stars unless it happened to be their favorite team. Durant is out to prove the haters and the doubters wrong as he looks to win a championship with Golden State. There’s no better way to put all the drama behind him than by winning the Finals while also winning the MVP award. Expect Durant to not only raise one but two trophies during the parade in the Bay Area.

4. Lebron will average less than 20 Points per Game.

Lebron has been on an absolute tear throughout the playoffs. With the exception of one game against the Celtics, Lebron has been averaging roughly 30 points per game during these playoffs but that will come to a screeching halt when he goes head to head with a top three defender in Draymond Green. With all due respect, Lance Stephenson, Serge Ibaka, Kelly Olynyk and Jaylen Brown should not even be in the same conversation as Draymond so expect the level of competition Lebron must face on defense to increase drastically when the Finals begin. Lebron averaged just above 24 points per game through the first four games of last year’s finals, three of which were Warriors victories, after Draymond Green was suspended however Lebron erupted for 41 points in back to back games. This year however the Warriors will have Draymond in the lineup as well as former Finals MVP Andre Iguodala and a much improved Kevin Durant on the defensive end. Expect a long series for the GOAT.

5. Draymond Green will record two Triple-Doubles.

Draymond Green has been a Swiss Army knife this year for the Warriors. He is Mr. Gadget and can do it all whether its scoring 14 a game, grabbing 9 rebounds or dishing out 7 assists per game throughout the playoffs. This year Draymond recorded the first triple double in NBA history while scoring fewer than 10 points. Draymond also tied the Warriors’ franchise record for Triple Doubles in the playoffs. Expect Draymond to break that record in these Finals and if he does then the Warriors will be in great shape as the team is 22-0 when Green notches a triple double.

6. The Warriors will win convincingly.

Quite frankly I am so tired of hearing the jokes about how the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the finals as if these internet trolls have ever had a lead in anything other than Madden set on rookie difficulty. And if the Warriors are anywhere near as fed up with these jokes as I am expect them to use it as motivation as they look to shut up the haters. The Warriors have been running through the west en route to a perfect playoff record while winning by an average of 16 points per game. Now while I will concede two games to the Cavs I expect that when the Warriors win games against Cleveland it will be in the same fashion that we’re used to seeing from these Warriors. Expect double digit margins in each of the Warriors victories.

7. Kevin Love will be a no show.

Typically when the Cavaliers play a team they sick their best defender on Lebron. Against Indiana it was Paul George. Against Toronto it was Serge Ibaka. Against Boston it was Marcus Smart or Jae Crowder. That left Kevin Love to be guarded by the likes of Patrick Patterson and Kelly Olynyk which allowed Love to score a career high 17.2 points per game in the playoffs. Look for Kevin Love’s hot streak to end in Oakland. The problem with the teams Cleveland played in the East is that none of them had 2-3 elite defenders. Golden State has just that. The Warriors have the option to put Steph Curry or Klay Thompson on Kyrie Irving, they can guard Lebron with either Kevin Durant, Draymond Green or look to the bench with Andre Iguodala. That leaves two of the group of Green, Durant and Iggy left to guard Love. With quality defense being put on Love expect him to struggle throughout the series.

8. Kyrie Irving will get the best of Steph Curry.

Kyrie and Steph are two of the top two point guards in the league today. Steph is the defending back-to-back MVP and was the first unanimous MVP in league history a year ago. Kyrie is the defending champion who hit the game winning three over Curry in last years finals. This year will feature a battle between Steph and Kyrie that will go down in history as one of the best matchups in Finals history however while Curry will certainly score 30 in a game or two, Irving will outplay Curry throughout most of the series as Golden State will look to go through Durant more so than Curry.

9. Klay Thompson will be the difference maker for the Warriors.

Thompson has struggled thus far throughout the playoffs scoring 11 points per game on 38% shooting. Look for those numbers to improve during the finals. Thompson is poised to break out soon. Remember this is the same guy who scored 60 points in one game while only playing three quarters. When Thompson gets hot he stays hot and is a threat to score 40-50 points in a game and with the likes of JR Smith and Iman Shumpert guarding him I would not be surprised to see Klay average more than 20 points per game in the finals.

10. This will not be the last installment of Warriors vs Cavaliers.

This is the third time in the same amount of years that we have seen the Warriors take on the Cavs in the NBA Finals and it certainly will not be the last time. Durant just got to the Warriors and he along with Klay Thompson, Steph Curry and Draymond Green are all in the prime of their careers while playing in a conference where Houston poses no real threat, the Clippers are bound to implode and the Spurs are aging. Meanwhile in Cleveland, Love and Irving are playing the best basketball of their careers while Lebron is more efficient than he has ever been while playing in a conference where the only threat is a Boston team that is still a couple years away from posing any real threat to Lebron’s streak of 7 straight finals. Expect to see a Golden State-Cleveland matchup more than once after this year’s NBA Finals.