Golden State versus Cleveland Cavaliers: Lebron James in eighth straight NBA Final
FLVRsports writer: Drew Farmer | @DrewMFarmer
The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are meeting in their fourth straight NBA Finals.
The Warriors have won two of the three finals, and so far, look likely to win a third. While some NBA fans will be tired of seeing the two teams, others couldn’t be happier to see the NBA’s two best players competing in the Association’s showpiece series. If there was any debate over which of the NBA’s Eastern Conference teams was the best, the questions were answered when the Cavs beat the Celtics in the conference finals. LeBron James has now featured in eight straight NBA Finals. The east has been dominated by James for nearly a decade and the fact that Cleveland can turn in a lackluster regular season yet make the finals shows the dearth of talent in the conference. James could leave the Cavs next season. If he does, the balance of power will shift to another team. James could go to the Western Conference, which has long been rumored. A move out west would see James greatly improve another team and the Cavs could fall from being the Eastern Conference’s best team.
NBA Finals 2018
Game 1 of this year’s finals saw Golden State win 124-114. The Warriors got great production from their big three, Durant (26), Steph Curry (29) and Klay Thompson (24). James’ 51-point output wasn’t enough. Kevin Love’s 21-points were next best. J.R. Smith’s 10 points made him the only other Cavs’ player to finish in double-digits. The inability for the Cavs’ role players to score was an indictment on just how poor the rest of the team is around James. Game 1 may have gone into overtime, but James and company could only score seven points in overtime. One media outlet stated the Cavs ruined James’ amazing finals points output. It is hard to argue with the assessment. Of course, the game was affected by officiating. The reversed charging call against James with 40 seconds left, allowed the Warriors to level the score. The call completely changed the outcome of the game. But the officials seem to have gotten the call right upon review. At least the call was right for Warriors’ fans. Due to the Warriors’ Game 1 win and James’ tremendous performance, the NBA Finals is nicely poised to deliver a great series. If James can continue his incredible scoring and bring his teammates into the games, the Cavs could come back and win the NBA Finals. However, if the rest of the team cannot step up, the Warriors will have no difficulty winning the NBA Championship again. This year’s final is another chance for James to etch his name into basketball history. Now in his eighth straight NBA Finals, James’ is already considered by many to be the greatest NBA player of all-time. It will take an all-mighty performance in the final games of the series, however, for the Cavs to win another championship.
