OKC was such a tough matchup for GS. They had some defensive lapses but they had the personnel to defend them that no other team really has. If GS played the Spurs and just rolled then this line would be like -350.
We should be back to our regularly scheduled program of GS running through the league unless LeBron just goes nuts. Dellavedova might have to stick that leg out on a Curry jumper reminsicent of Jalen Rose on Kobe in the '00 finals.
We should be back to our regularly scheduled program of GS running through the league unless LeBron just goes nuts. Dellavedova might have to stick that leg out on a Curry jumper reminsicent of Jalen Rose on Kobe in the '00 finals.
Variance. When you have 2 teams shooting 35 3 pointers a game then one team going a little cold and the other running well can change things pretty fast. Even with that GS should still be fine because they're going to be getting way better looks than against OKC, but it is definitely makes things a little more volatile.
I think SA is better than Cle but in terms of upside I'd give Cleveland a better chance to beat GS just because LeBron and their shooting has a higher upside than anything SA can do.
For sure. Makes it very difficult to bet game to game especially. Doesn't worry my as much over 7 games but you are correct, it's possible. As you said, the quality of looks GS is going to get should be tough for Cleveland to overcome. Who does Love guard? Who does Irving guard? What does Cleveland do in the pick and roll? They don't have Adams and Westbrook. They don't even have Ibaka. Love in particular is going to look like Enes Kanter.
Even though LeBron is better defensively than Durant, he likely won't be able to play any better than Durant did against GS. And after him the rest of the guys aren't that good. Shumpert has regressed too much since last year, Mozgov is dead. Smith is OK but Roberson is way better defensively than him. Harder to stick Curry on Roberson than Smith as well since he can cut and goes to the offensive boards.
If Cleveland was fully healthy last year then they would've had a good shot to win, GS just wasn't as good or experienced last year and a little more offensive firepower might've got them over the hump. Now Curry and Klay are better, Green is way better, Barnes is a year older, everyone has experience on the big stage, Bogut is healthier.
It really is a weird dynamic that OKC just got that underrated. They're better than Cleveland at pretty much every position besides LeBron/Durant which is close. Most of the weaknesses that people think GS has were just a function of playing another great team.
The funny thing is if Cleveland did win then the narrative would shift to that it was just two great teams, GS struggled in the previous rd and LeBron still wouldn't really get the credit for the monumental feat that would be.
If Cleveland was fully healthy last year then they would've had a good shot to win, GS just wasn't as good or experienced last year and a little more offensive firepower might've got them over the hump. Now Curry and Klay are better, Green is way better, Barnes is a year older, everyone has experience on the big stage, Bogut is healthier.
It really is a weird dynamic that OKC just got that underrated. They're better than Cleveland at pretty much every position besides LeBron/Durant which is close. Most of the weaknesses that people think GS has were just a function of playing another great team.
The funny thing is if Cleveland did win then the narrative would shift to that it was just two great teams, GS struggled in the previous rd and LeBron still wouldn't really get the credit for the monumental feat that would be.
