Will there Actually be a New Team in the NBA Finals?
If anybody tell you they’re not sick of Lebron versus the Warriors, they’re a lying douchebag. Nobody wants to see the Warriors beat the hell out of the Cavs for the second year in a row. The Warriors should truthfully be 3-0 in series against the Cavs in the Finals, but the NBA handed Lebron a ring with that Draymond Suspension two years ago. It’s truthfully boring as hell watching the same thing unfold year after year in the NBA. At least if the Warriors make the Finals this year, let them beat up on the Celtics instead. Or if Lebron makes it back to the Finals for an 8th straight year, let him get his ass kicked by Houston this time. Or even better, Let Houston and Boston slug it out and have two new teams.
Houston or Boston: Who’s More Likely to Make the Finals?
From a series standpoint, it would be the Celtics. They’re up 3-2 and Houston is tied 2-2. Also, tonight could change that though and Houston could also be up 3-2. So, let’s forget about the numbers here. Plain and simple, Boston is more likely to make it over Cleveland than Houston is over Golden State. Even with the Rockets having 2 of the next 3 games at home, the Warriors don’t seem to give a shit about playing on the road. They punked the Rockets in game 1, so what’s stopping that from happening again?
The Celtics are 10-0 at home in these playoffs and clearly have the Cavs number in TD Garden. I have more faith in the Celtics on the road than the Rockets on the road. That’s the big difference. Even though the Celtics have absolutely sucked on the road in these playoffs, I feel that their momentum could give them an advantage in game 6. The Warriors are cold blooded and won’t lose another game at home in this series after dropping 1 already. The C’s probably want to avoid a game 7 against Lebron as well. One way or another, Brad Stevens positions the Celtics to have a better chance to make the finals than the Rockets.
Cavaliers and Warriors: What Missing the Finals Means
Both of these teams have played into mid-June three years in a row. They probably literally forget what it’s like to miss the Finals. For the Warriors, it wouldn’t mean too much. It would mean they lost to a great Rockets team who built their roster solely to defeat Golden State. Might entice the Warriors to bulk up their bench a little bit and get bigger. Javale McGee and Zaza Pachulia are far less than average centers in this league. In the end, the Warriors will be fine and still have the best team in the league next year.
For the Cavs, well, it becomes a shitshow if they miss the NBA Finals. Lebron’s leaving Cleveland again. It’s basically the Cleveland Lebrons anyways so that wrecks the team. They’re immediately a bottom 5 team in the East. Kevin Love would probably get traded in order to become younger and acquire draft picks. Pretty much what happened the first time Lebron left Cleveland, just worse. One thing that could be a slight positive surrounds Tyronn Lue. We all give him crap for being an awful coach, but he’s never really been given the chance with Lebron there. If he can have a semi successful season in the post Lebron period, then it shows that he has what it takes to be a good NBA coach.
Final Takeaway
Even though we all want a new NBA Finals matchup, we need to appreciate the rivalry we had. In 20 years, we’ll look back at the Lebron versus Golden State rivalry and go “damn, those were some good battles.” The matchup let us realize the best team in NBA history that became a dynasty. It really showed that a team needed to build the best team ever to beat Lebron James. While I’m not guaranteeing that we won’t see the same NBA Finals matchup this season, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that we will see either the Celtics or Rockets in the 2018 NBA Finals.
-Brandon Black (Follow @bhblack02)