The Cleveland Cavaliers have been touted as the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Coming off of a championship season, the Cavs have been a force in the NBA ever since LeBron James returned to the team after his stint with the Miami Heat. He helped bring Cleveland its first championship ever as the Cavs were part of the greatest NBA Finals comeback in history. The Golden State Warriors seemingly had them dead to rights, up 3-1 in the seven-game series, but the Cavs willed their way to the title.
The Warriors are projected to represent the West in the Finals this year, setting up the third straight rematch between the two teams. The Warriors claimed a victory the first time around, then the Cavs redeemed themselves. If both the Cavs and Warriors can advance to the finals for a third straight time, it will surely make another chapter in one of the NBA’s better rivalries. However, things are a little different this season.
Perhaps the biggest change from last year is the Warriors’ addition of All-Star Kevin Durant. Durant adds a new element to the Warriors’ offense—an offense that is already dangerous with weapons like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The Warriors currently sit atop the Western Conference standings and look committed to clinching a playoff berth as the top-seeded team.
The Cavs didn’t pick up any All-Star free agents in the offseason, opting to instead resign the players whose contracts were up. They traded PG Matthew Dellavedova, who played a pivotal role in the Cavs’ championship run, and are relying on star PG Kyrie Irving. Irving isn’t a bad option, as he’s averaging 24.4 points a game. The Cavs also have arguably the greatest player to ever play the game in LeBron James. James is averaging 25.9 points a game at 53.9% field goal accuracy. He’s the team’s leader and has come in clutch time and time again. The last remaining member of the Cavs’ Big 3, Kevin Love, has been having a good season averaging 20 points a game. Love recently underwent surgery and will be out temporarily as he recovers, but is expected to make a strong return to action.
Some analysts are saying that this Cavs team aren’t as strong as last year’s, and if that’s true then the Cavs may be in trouble. The Warriors have only gotten stronger; but before the Cavs can even worry about them, they have to get out of the Eastern Conference first. While the Cavs are leading the East, the Boston Celtics have emerged as the strongest contender and are only two games behind the Cavs in the Eastern standings. If the standings stay as they are now, then the Cavs would face the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the Playoffs. They wouldn’t have to worry about the Celtics until the Easter Conference Finals. Either way, the Cavs don’t have as much breathing room as they’d probably like. With Love out for a few weeks, there is some potential for them to lose games, but they don’t exactly have much of a choice.
There is still a lot of time before the Playoffs—certainly enough time for a shift in the rankings in both conferences. If the Cavs can maintain throughout the rest of the regular season, they’ll give themselves an advantage in terms of where they are in the Playoff bracket, which could potentially payoff for them come time to face the Warriors in the Finals. From an Ohio resident standpoint, particularly those who are interested in Ohio sports gambling , the Cavs are a solid bet for the NBA Championship.