The Warriors are just a ridiculous offensive juggernaut.

[Thedictator]

GS currently has a better offense, but their defense is worse...they are giving up more points than last year on defense and their bench scoring is way down

GS imo has the same problem as last year...Sure they will score a lot, win a lot of games against other teams but as soon as they run into a team that is healthy in the playoffs and they have only faced 2 in the last 2 years like (OKC last year should have lost) and Cavs that play defense, rebounds better and have damn near just as deadly of an offense they lose...Will Durant push them over the edge, that statistics say no...

Wishful thinking doesn't make it so.

I said the same thing last year and the year before(sans injury)...A 3 point shooting team once guarded suddenly stops making as many three's that look unstoppable in the regular season...Nobody is going to play playoff level defense until the playoffs...so it won't show up until the playoffs...then tie in teams that have better rebounders, don't turn the ball over 10 million times and better interior players and it is much closer than you think...

[Robceltsfan]

GS currently has a better offense, but their defense is worse...they are giving up more points than last year on defense and their bench scoring is way down

GS imo has the same problem as last year...Sure they will score a lot, win a lot of games against other teams but as soon as they run into a team that is healthy in the playoffs and they have only faced 2 in the last 2 years like (OKC last year should have lost) and Cavs that play defense, rebounds better and have damn near just as deadly of an offense they lose...Will Durant push them over the edge, that statistics say no...

Wishful thinking doesn't make it so.

I said the same thing last year and the year before(sans injury)...A 3 point shooting team once guarded suddenly stops making as many three's that look unstoppable in the regular season...Nobody is going to play playoff level defense until the playoffs...so it won't show up until the playoffs...then tie in teams that have better rebounders, don't turn the ball over 10 million times and better interior players and it is much closer than you think...

I don't disagree with your train of thought....but despite all that Cleveland needed 7 games to pull off the upset....and Barnes' inability to play good offense is widely held as the main culprit. The same won't be true with Durant at SF.

[vcsgrizzfan]

Wishful thinking doesn't make it so.

I said the same thing last year and the year before(sans injury)...A 3 point shooting team once guarded suddenly stops making as many three's that look unstoppable in the regular season...Nobody is going to play playoff level defense until the playoffs...so it won't show up until the playoffs...then tie in teams that have better rebounders, don't turn the ball over 10 million times and better interior players and it is much closer than you think...

I don't disagree with your train of thought....but despite all that Cleveland needed 7 games to pull off the upset....and Barnes' inability to play good offense is widely held as the main culprit. The same won't be true with Durant at SF.

And Curry played the worse he could possibly play and, and, and....

the Cavs were extremely fortunate.

This year, they are getting pancaked.

[AbeVigodaLive]

GS currently has a better offense, but their defense is worse...they are giving up more points than last year on defense and their bench scoring is way down

GS imo has the same problem as last year...Sure they will score a lot, win a lot of games against other teams but as soon as they run into a team that is healthy in the playoffs and they have only faced 2 in the last 2 years like (OKC last year should have lost) and Cavs that play defense, rebounds better and have damn near just as deadly of an offense they lose...Will Durant push them over the edge, that statistics say no...

Wishful thinking doesn't make it so.

I said the same thing last year and the year before(sans injury)...A 3 point shooting team once guarded suddenly stops making as many three's that look unstoppable in the regular season...Nobody is going to play playoff level defense until the playoffs...so it won't show up until the playoffs...then tie in teams that have better rebounders, don't turn the ball over 10 million times and better interior players and it is much closer than you think...

Maybe.

But let's not forget that GSW replaced a guy who shot 5 - 32 (16%) on almost exclusively wide-open looks in the final 3 games with one of the best shooting/scoring players in recent NBA history... who's in his prime.

GSW is banking on Durant shooting better than Barnes did. I like their odds.



[Note: I also think it was clear Cleveland was the hungrier team last season. We'll see if that's the case in the re-rematch.]

[Robceltsfan]

I said the same thing last year and the year before(sans injury)...A 3 point shooting team once guarded suddenly stops making as many three's that look unstoppable in the regular season...Nobody is going to play playoff level defense until the playoffs...so it won't show up until the playoffs...then tie in teams that have better rebounders, don't turn the ball over 10 million times and better interior players and it is much closer than you think...

I don't disagree with your train of thought....but despite all that Cleveland needed 7 games to pull off the upset....and Barnes' inability to play good offense is widely held as the main culprit. The same won't be true with Durant at SF.

And Curry played the worse he could possibly play and, and, and....

the Cavs were extremely fortunate.

This year, they are getting pancaked.

Ehhhh....Curry wasn't "great", but I do think the physical defense played a large role in his inconsistency. However, his shooting lanes open up if the Cavs are having to worry about Durant instead of Barnes.

[Thedictator]

Wishful thinking doesn't make it so.

I said the same thing last year and the year before(sans injury)...A 3 point shooting team once guarded suddenly stops making as many three's that look unstoppable in the regular season...Nobody is going to play playoff level defense until the playoffs...so it won't show up until the playoffs...then tie in teams that have better rebounders, don't turn the ball over 10 million times and better interior players and it is much closer than you think...

I don't disagree with your train of thought....but despite all that Cleveland needed 7 games to pull off the upset....and Barnes' inability to play good offense is widely held as the main culprit. The same won't be true with Durant at SF.

True, but GS had all the advantages...they had a better team than the year before, they all now had championship experience, confidence going into the 2nd finals, and they had Home court advantage....It was already stacked in their favor and lebron shit all over them...So it may have taken 7 but their is a reason it basically never happens with a road team on game 7.

In order to win a game 7 or come back from 3-1 on the road that team has to be signifcanntly better based on the odds

[vcsgrizzfan]

I don't disagree with your train of thought....but despite all that Cleveland needed 7 games to pull off the upset....and Barnes' inability to play good offense is widely held as the main culprit. The same won't be true with Durant at SF.

And Curry played the worse he could possibly play and, and, and....

the Cavs were extremely fortunate.

This year, they are getting pancaked.

Ehhhh....Curry wasn't "great", but I do think the physical defense played a large role in his inconsistency. However, his shooting lanes open up if the Cavs are having to worry about Durant instead of Barnes.

It was more than that. He let himself get flustered, turned it over very carelessly, not because of pressure at very key times etc.... I just don't see that repeating.

[zombiesonics]

You'd think people would have learned their lesson blowing their load too early on the Warriors hype train. The Cavs have the physicality and post game to play tough playoff basketball. And Kevin Love is looking better than ever. Their one weakness imo is rim protection. Larry Sanders would look good on this team if he still wants to play basketball.

[AbeVigodaLive]

You'd think people would have learned their lesson blowing their load too early on the Warriors hype train. The Cavs have the physicality and post game to play tough playoff basketball. And Kevin Love is looking better than ever. Their one weakness imo is rim protection. Larry Sanders would look good on this team if he still wants to play basketball.

I don't know if people are claiming the Warriors are shoo-in for a title. I'm not. But I think it's fair to marvel in just how good they are right now offensively.

Remember, even that team last season was up 3 - 1 and things were looking very bleak for Cleveland despite the Warriors not playing great ball a the time. Then, Draymond Green was suspended when the Cavs were down. That opened the door a crack. James and Co. took it and won a Game 5 without Green. Then they went home with momentum. Boom. Game 6. They brought all the momentum and minimal pressure with them into Game 7. And they deserve credit for pulling it off.

But let's not pretend that Barnes didn't shoot 5 - 32 fg. And that Bogut didn't get injured... which left GSW with Ezeli, Spreights and VAREJO! combining for 0 - 7 fg shooting with 5 rebounds in Game 7. Or Curry shooting 22- 60 fg (37%) over the final 3 games.

Could some of those things happen again? Yep.
Does Cleveland deserve credit for some of it? Yep.
Is it likely that all of those things happen at the same time again? Probably not.

If anything, we learned how quickly things can turn and that one team can win a title by playing super good for 3 games... while another plays super poorly... regardless of what happened previously.

[elmerjfudd]

I'm loving it and hope they continue to look like the most unbeatable in NBA history.

Only helps The King's legacy even more when he beats them.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I'm loving it and hope they continue to look like the most unbeatable in NBA history.

Only helps The King's legacy even more when he beats them.

It definitely will. With those three wins last season... and how he played in them... his legacy was changed already.

To do it again...
Oh oh...

[Bush4Ever]

I'm loving it and hope they continue to look like the most unbeatable in NBA history.

Only helps The King's legacy even more when he beats them.

Honestly, a Finals win over an even bigger (IMO) juggernaut than last year would vault him past Kareem/Duncan in my eyes (while leaving the Magic/Bird/Shaq/Wilt/Kobe tier in the dust) and also get him to a point where the Jordan comparisons can start becoming serious.

[zombiesonics]

You'd think people would have learned their lesson blowing their load too early on the Warriors hype train. The Cavs have the physicality and post game to play tough playoff basketball. And Kevin Love is looking better than ever. Their one weakness imo is rim protection. Larry Sanders would look good on this team if he still wants to play basketball.

I don't know if people are claiming the Warriors are shoo-in for a title. I'm not. But I think it's fair to marvel in just how good they are right now offensively.

Remember, even that team last season was up 3 - 1 and things were looking very bleak for Cleveland despite the Warriors not playing great ball a the time. Then, Draymond Green was suspended when the Cavs were down. That opened the door a crack. James and Co. took it and won a Game 5 without Green. Then they went home with momentum. Boom. Game 6. They brought all the momentum and minimal pressure with them into Game 7. And they deserve credit for pulling it off.

But let's not pretend that Barnes didn't shoot 5 - 32 fg. And that Bogut didn't get injured... which left GSW with Ezeli, Spreights and VAREJO! combining for 0 - 7 fg shooting with 5 rebounds in Game 7. Or Curry shooting 22- 60 fg (37%) over the final 3 games.

Could some of those things happen again? Yep.
Does Cleveland deserve credit for some of it? Yep.
Is it likely that all of those things happen at the same time again? Probably not.

If anything, we learned how quickly things can turn and that one team can win a title by playing super good for 3 games... while another plays super poorly... regardless of what happened previously.

The Cavs were essentially playing without Love last year. Now Love is looking better than ever, and that could be an even bigger problem for the Warriors than Durant is for the Cavs. And Draymond was on the floor for the Warriors final 2 losses. That excuse is just as lame now as it was last season.

Curry is shooting a career low in 3 pt%. He's becoming a streak shooter (by his standards). Curry likes to dribble into rhythm which he could do all day last year but not so much this year. These problems could be exacerbated in the playoffs just like last year, in addition to Durant's tendency to disappear in big games.

[AbeVigodaLive]

You'd think people would have learned their lesson blowing their load too early on the Warriors hype train. The Cavs have the physicality and post game to play tough playoff basketball. And Kevin Love is looking better than ever. Their one weakness imo is rim protection. Larry Sanders would look good on this team if he still wants to play basketball.

I don't know if people are claiming the Warriors are shoo-in for a title. I'm not. But I think it's fair to marvel in just how good they are right now offensively.

Remember, even that team last season was up 3 - 1 and things were looking very bleak for Cleveland despite the Warriors not playing great ball a the time. Then, Draymond Green was suspended when the Cavs were down. That opened the door a crack. James and Co. took it and won a Game 5 without Green. Then they went home with momentum. Boom. Game 6. They brought all the momentum and minimal pressure with them into Game 7. And they deserve credit for pulling it off.

But let's not pretend that Barnes didn't shoot 5 - 32 fg. And that Bogut didn't get injured... which left GSW with Ezeli, Spreights and VAREJO! combining for 0 - 7 fg shooting with 5 rebounds in Game 7. Or Curry shooting 22- 60 fg (37%) over the final 3 games.

Could some of those things happen again? Yep.
Does Cleveland deserve credit for some of it? Yep.
Is it likely that all of those things happen at the same time again? Probably not.

If anything, we learned how quickly things can turn and that one team can win a title by playing super good for 3 games... while another plays super poorly... regardless of what happened previously.

The Cavs were essentially playing without Love last year. Now Love is looking better than ever, and that could be an even bigger problem for the Warriors than Durant is for the Cavs. And Draymond was on the floor for the Warriors final 2 losses. That excuse is just as lame now as it was last season.

Curry is shooting a career low in 3 pt%. He's becoming a streak shooter (by his standards). Curry likes to dribble into rhythm which he could do all day last year but not so much this year. These problems could be exacerbated in the playoffs just like last year, in addition to Durant's tendency to disappear in big games.

?
?

I can respond to each of these if you want. But why? Seriously. Good lord, man.

[zombiesonics]

I don't know if people are claiming the Warriors are shoo-in for a title. I'm not. But I think it's fair to marvel in just how good they are right now offensively.

Remember, even that team last season was up 3 - 1 and things were looking very bleak for Cleveland despite the Warriors not playing great ball a the time. Then, Draymond Green was suspended when the Cavs were down. That opened the door a crack. James and Co. took it and won a Game 5 without Green. Then they went home with momentum. Boom. Game 6. They brought all the momentum and minimal pressure with them into Game 7. And they deserve credit for pulling it off.

But let's not pretend that Barnes didn't shoot 5 - 32 fg. And that Bogut didn't get injured... which left GSW with Ezeli, Spreights and VAREJO! combining for 0 - 7 fg shooting with 5 rebounds in Game 7. Or Curry shooting 22- 60 fg (37%) over the final 3 games.

Could some of those things happen again? Yep.
Does Cleveland deserve credit for some of it? Yep.
Is it likely that all of those things happen at the same time again? Probably not.

If anything, we learned how quickly things can turn and that one team can win a title by playing super good for 3 games... while another plays super poorly... regardless of what happened previously.

The Cavs were essentially playing without Love last year. Now Love is looking better than ever, and that could be an even bigger problem for the Warriors than Durant is for the Cavs. And Draymond was on the floor for the Warriors final 2 losses. That excuse is just as lame now as it was last season.

Curry is shooting a career low in 3 pt%. He's becoming a streak shooter (by his standards). Curry likes to dribble into rhythm which he could do all day last year but not so much this year. These problems could be exacerbated in the playoffs just like last year, in addition to Durant's tendency to disappear in big games.

?
?

I can respond to each of these if you want. But why? Seriously. Good lord, man.

The Warriors don't do well against big, physical teams with players who can bang down low. I would've assumed that you knew that. Durant isn't helping that, and they lost Bogut. The Warriors are going to try to outscore their problems, good luck with that strategy.

[thedangerouskitchen]

I'm loving it and hope they continue to look like the most unbeatable in NBA history.

Only helps The King's legacy even more when he beats them.

It definitely will. With those three wins last season... and how he played in them... his legacy was changed already.

To do it again...
Oh oh...

As long as Kyrie Irving continues to take/make all the big shots, the Cavs have a chance to win the Championship this year... and if they do, LeBron will be a very mediocre 4-4 in the Finals.

[elmouse03]

The Cavs were essentially playing without Love last year. Now Love is looking better than ever, and that could be an even bigger problem for the Warriors than Durant is for the Cavs. And Draymond was on the floor for the Warriors final 2 losses. That excuse is just as lame now as it was last season.

Curry is shooting a career low in 3 pt%. He's becoming a streak shooter (by his standards). Curry likes to dribble into rhythm which he could do all day last year but not so much this year. These problems could be exacerbated in the playoffs just like last year, in addition to Durant's tendency to disappear in big games.

?
?

I can respond to each of these if you want. But why? Seriously. Good lord, man.

The Warriors don't do well against big, physical teams with players who can bang down low. I would've assumed that you knew that. Durant isn't helping that, and they lost Bogut. The Warriors are going to try to outscore their problems, good luck with that strategy.

Didn't they just beat the Clippers with Jordan and Blake?

[Bush4Ever]

The funny thing is that the Splash Brothers and Green are shooting below standards from three...and they still have probably the GOAT offensive outputs in history (to-date obviously).

[zombiesonics]

?
?

I can respond to each of these if you want. But why? Seriously. Good lord, man.

The Warriors don't do well against big, physical teams with players who can bang down low. I would've assumed that you knew that. Durant isn't helping that, and they lost Bogut. The Warriors are going to try to outscore their problems, good luck with that strategy.

Didn't they just beat the Clippers with Jordan and Blake?

I'm talking about the playoffs. Not random meaningless December regular season games.

[elmouse03]

The Warriors don't do well against big, physical teams with players who can bang down low. I would've assumed that you knew that. Durant isn't helping that, and they lost Bogut. The Warriors are going to try to outscore their problems, good luck with that strategy.

Didn't they just beat the Clippers with Jordan and Blake?

I'm talking about the playoffs. Not random meaningless December regular season games.

Didn't they beat the Rockets 2 years ago with Dwight Howard?