NBA Finals: Game By Game Predictions

He has done it. King James has reached an astounding 5 finals in a row.

His deadeye corner three ball shooting, clutch postgame high fives, and healthy dosages of 11.7 minutes per game make the former Heat and current Cavalier star one that will rest in the rafters one day.

Wait a second… That’s the wrong King James. That is James Jones, known by many as a LeBron groupie. The real King James, LeBron James, is also in his fifth consecutive finals, and is much more responsible for those trips than his longtime teammate James Jones.

The Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves searching for their first championship ever, and the city of Cleveland is thirstier than ever to win something other than smelliest city in Ohio (more on this from ISH’s Cleveland native, Korey Burdman, here.)

The Golden State Warriors, on the opposite end of the spectrum, come in as the Vegas favorites and are widely predicted to put away the series quickly. Led by miracle-kid and award winning chef, Steph Curry, the Warriors are as deep as they are talented.

The Splash Brothers (Curry and sidekick Klay Thompson) make up the best backcourt in the league, while Draymonster Green, Andrew Aussie Bogut, Harrison Barnes, David Lee, and Andre Iggy dolla make up the ranks in the frontcourt.

The team, unlike the rest of the league, have two, maybe three options as to who to pin on LeBron. Draymond Green is a tough tank that could cause problems for King James, while Andre Iguodala has been regarded as one of the top perimeter defenders in the league for a few years now. Harrison Barnes has also shown flashes of being great at playing defense (in the playoffs.)

The Warriors also remain healthy, while the Cavs could only wish for such a label. They lost star(?) power forward Kevin Love for the year to a dramatized tangling of limbs in the first round against Kelly Olynyk and the Boston Celtics. Kyrie Irving missed the Hawks series with an almost-broken everything, and the Cavs have dearly missed veteran Brazilian Anderson Varajao since he went down early in the season.

However, the Warriors do have one red flag of health – Klay Thompson suffered a scary head injury in the Rockets series. He has since been cleared of his concussion, but that may be a stretch. The guy fricking bled from his ear.

So if Klay Thompson’s head is ok (I.E. he can distinguish between colors and sounds) by Thursday’s NBA Finals game one, then the Warriors should remain the favorites.

But its hard to believe any team can take down LeBron in the finals in less than six games. Let’s break it down game by game as we progress to finally making a prediction so you can close this tab.

 

Game One, @Golden State, Thursday June 4th, 9 PM ET

Ah, the stage is set. The kid vs. the King. Who will take the opening matchup?

In short, Golden State. The Warriors will roast the Cavs by twenty, with Steph Curry scoring over 30 points. The King will score over 25 and approach a triple double, but his supporting cast will falter, and the Cavs will look nervous and broken, while the well oiled Golden State machine will tear them apart from downtown.

Post game one, the media will burst into anti-Cavalier sentiment, and the series will be proclaimed over by the masses, and experts will claim Golden State is well on its way to a clean sweep, LeBron’s second Finals sweep.

Warriors lead 1-0

Game Two, @Golden State, Sunday June 7th, 8 PM ET

The King will react to the media, but not with words, but with play. The Cavs will come out of the gate running, and they will lead at halftime thanks to clutch play from LeBron and Kyrie.

But Curry, Klay, and Draymonster will come roaring back and steal game two from the grasps of LeBron, winning by less than five points, thanks to a fourth quarter comeback that saw Curry hoisting up threes and dishing it to Klay to do the same.

By now, according to basically everyone everywhere, the Cavs are done.

Warriors lead 2-0

 

Game Three, @Cleveland, Tuesday June 9th, 9 PM ET

The Cavaliers, with the city of Cleveland, the state of Ohio, and the nation of Israel behind them, will give the home fans a show in Clevelands first taste of the finals since 2007.

LeBron will post a monster statline, and so will Kyrie Irving. Steph Curry will struggle in his first away game of the series, and so will his teammates. The Cavs will win with a commanding performance, and the Warriors will look like the young team they are.

Australian Matthew Dellavadova, now known as a man on a mission to hurt the best players on any team the Cavs play in the playoffs, will get in a boxing out matchup with fellow (and much larger) Australian Andrew Bogut, that will turn from a boxing out match to a boxing match. Both will be ejected, and tensions between both teams will boil over.

The series gets interesting again.

Warriors lead 2-1

 

Game Four, @Cleveland, Thursday June 11th, 9 PM ET

With both teams reeling from an emotional game three, game four will open up fast and furious. The Warriors will lead by halftime and behind the MVP play of Steph Curry will look like they are on their way to putting Cleveland up against the wall in a 3-1 lead.

But the Cavs will get a second wind during halftime and storm back and take game four in a close match up that sees LeBron outgun Curry in the fourth.

The Finals are shaping up to be great so far, right?

Series tied 2-2

 

Game Five, @Golden State, Sunday June 14th, 8 PM ET

With momentum on their side, the Cavs will look confident in game three. The whole team will be scoring and moving the ball, and it will be back and forth all night. J.R. Smith will absolutely go off, shooting shot after shot, and sinking them. Smith will go for over 40 as LeBron takes up a more assisting role.

The Warriors will remain a team oriented style, and Curry, Thompson, Barnes, and Green will all score healthy dosages of points. The game will be close going into the fourth, but the Cavs will run out of steam, and the Warriors will take their third home game of the season despite a huge shooting night from J.R. Smith and healthy contributions from Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, and Kyrie Irving.

Warriors Lead 3-2

 

Game Six, @Cleveland, Tuesday June 16th, 9 PM ET

With his back against the wall and much of his legacy on the line, LeBron will open up game six at home like a basketball god.

After his stepping back from scoring in game five left them with a loss, LeBron will be the most selfish we have ever seen him play in game six. Irving will be a non-factor and more of a spectator. The supporting cast will do what they can to help, but this is LeBron’s game.

Equally motivated to secure his legacy, Stephen Curry will also pour in a huge load of points. The Davidson product will score over 40 and dish out more than 10 assists, while LeBron will post a massive 40-15-10 triple double.

But, much like his team in game five, LeBron won’t be able to keep it up until the final buzzer. The Warriors will close the game out in the fourth, and a desperation attempt by LeBron in the closing seconds will fail to hit the mark.

The Warriors will win the NBA Finals, and Steph Curry will cap off his dream season fittingly, as LeBron loses his second Finals in a row and third overall.

Warriors WIN 4-2