NBA Playoffs 2015: Complete Predictions Through the Finals
At long last, it's time to bid farewell to the NBA season's 82-game slog and scrub our brains of all those wacky, end-of-season playoff scenarios and the mass confusion they inspired. Playoff basketball is here, and the race for the Larry O'Brien trophy is as wide-open as it's been in a long time.
The Golden State Warriors were the toast of the league throughout 2014-15, but they'll have to contend with the likes of Anthony Davis, the Grit-N-Grind Memphis Grizzlies and the resurgent San Antonio Spurs, just to get out of the West. On the other side of the bracket, LeBron James seems to have the inside track on a fifth straight Finals appearance, but only if the relatively green Cleveland Cavaliers around him can come together against the experienced Chicago Bulls and rising Atlanta Hawks.
Those will be just a handful of the storylines and developments to follow during the Association's two-month Big Dance to come.
Will this be the last ride for Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili? Can the Los Angeles Clippers, now free of Donald Sterling's reign, survive the daunting gauntlet ahead of them? What part will the injury bug play, particularly in relation to banged-up teams like the Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets? Can any of the East's bottom-five teams make noise against that conference's elites?
We'll find out soon enough. For now, let's take a look at the 2015 postseason and make some round-by-round predictions.
East 1st Round: Atlanta Hawks (No. 1) vs. Brooklyn Nets (No. 8)
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The Atlanta Hawks were probably hoping that the Brooklyn Nets would miss the playoffs.
It's not that the Hawks have any real reason to fear the Nets. They swept their season series with Brooklyn, winning those four games by an average of 17.3 points.
Rather, it's a matter of front office interest. Atlanta will have the right to swap picks with Brooklyn in this year's draft—the final payoff from 2012's Joe Johnson trade—and, of course, a lottery selection would've been more valuable than the one the Nets can now convey.
Beyond that wrinkle, there's not a whole lot to see in this series. The Hawks were far superior to the Nets during the regular season and figure to remain so in the playoffs.
Not even those charged with guiding Brooklyn seem to think the Nets can make much noise.
"I don’t think we have any advantages over the Hawks," said head coach Lionel Hollins, per The Brooklyn Games' Devin Kharpertian.
Hollins certainly isn't wrong.The Hawks ranked among the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, while his team was merely middle-of-the-pack in scoring and near the bottom of the barrel in stopping, per NBA.com.
Atlanta thrives off ball movement (No. 1 in assist percentage), while Brooklyn merely survives on a steady diet of isolations. Whatever weakness the Hawks have on the glass isn't likely to be exploited by a Nets squad that's not much better at rebounding.
Brooklyn's best (and maybe only) bet in this series is to hope that Brook Lopez, who averaged 23.7 points and 9.6 rebounds over his last 16 games, and Thaddeus Young can take advantage of Atlanta's lack of size and rim protection on the interior.
And if Johnson can come through against his old team, even better.
"Obviously, Atlanta is home away from home for me. But would I love to go down there and us play the spoiler? Yes," Johnson said, per ESPN New York's Mike Mazzeo. "But there’s no added pressure on me to go down there and try to have a great performance game in and game out."
Prediction: Hawks in 5
East 1st Round: Cleveland Cavaliers (No. 2) vs. Boston Celtics (No. 7)
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The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics went toe-to-toe in the postseason, Beantown's Big Four knocked LeBron James out of the running for the title and, as it turns out, sent him on his way to South Beach.
Much has changed between these two teams since that second-round series in 2010. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo have all moved on, as have the rest of their former Gang Green teammates. The Cavs have just a pair of holdovers from their last playoff appearance prior to this one: Anderson Varejao, who tore his left Achilles in December, and James.
The Cavs shouldn't have too much trouble turning the table on the C's this time around. Cleveland can claim the three best players in the series (i.e. James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) and might be able to boast the top five, depending on how J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov are playing on a given night.
Not that the Celtics are going to lay down their arms and beg for mercy from the opening tip. They wouldn't even be in the playoffs if not for the collective heart, scrap and teamwork they've exhibited under head coach Brad Stevens this season.
"To have a chance to compete against the very best in the league, it’s a great opportunity," Stevens said of facing the Cavs, per The Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach. "And hey, it’s a big mountain."
Intangibles are key to any postseason push, but there's only so much they can do to help an overmatched squad like the C's scale a mountain as treacherous as the one the Cavs represent. Stevens has proved himself to be among the most creative and resourceful minds in his profession.
But dreaming up a scheme to help his team's middle-of-the-pack defense slow down a Cleveland offense that's been the NBA's best since mid-January (i.e. when James returned from sabbatical and David Blatt had already integrated Mozgov, Smith and Iman Shumpert into his rotation) might be beyond even his imagination.
Prediction: Cavaliers in 4
East 1st Round: Chicago Bulls (No. 3) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (No. 6)
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The Milwaukee Bucks did wonderfully well for themselves this season. Under Jason Kidd's direction, they won 41 games, finished with the NBA's second-stingiest defense and snagged the No. 6 seed in the East despite a devastating rash of injuries, defections and trade disruptions. More impressive still, this all came on the heels of a disastrous 2013-14 season in which the Bucks won a franchise-worst 15 games.
Kudos to Milwaukee for making it this far, but now is the time that Cinderella's sparkling carriage usually plops back into pumpkin mode.
The Chicago Bulls will make sure of that. They come into the playoffs as healthy as they've been in a while—which doesn't say much for Chicago's fitness. Joakim Noah and Kirk Hinrich both missed the last two games of the regular season to rest their weary knees. Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose both left the season finale early, the former with a shoulder strain and the latter with soreness in his knee.
Rose, in particular, has looked like little more than a shell of his old self since returning from midseason knee surgery. Just don't tell him that.
"I believe I'm one of the best players in the NBA...still," Rose said, per ESPN's Nick Friedell.
To be sure, the Bulls don't need Rose to be that to beat the Bucks in a seven-game series. Their combination of size, skill, depth and experiences should be more than enough to fend off Milwaukee.
Expect a tough, ugly tiff between these two. The Bucks will lean heavily on their defense to disrupt the flow of the Bulls' top-10 offense.
That, along with potential breakout efforts from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, may create just enough daylight for Milwaukee to steal a game. But the Bucks' inability to score (25th in offensive efficiency, per NBA.com) won't allow them to do much more.
Prediction: Chicago in 5
East 1st Round: Toronto Raptors (No. 4) vs. Washington Wizards (No. 5)
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the best bet for a truly competitive first-round series in the East rests with the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards.
If you combined these two teams, you'd wind up with a pretty darn good squad, perhaps one capable of advancing to the NBA Finals. According to NBA.com, the Raptors sported the league's third-most efficient offense, while the Wizards registered as the fifth-stingiest defense around.
The difference in the series may well ride on how Toronto's bottom-10 defense fares against Washington's middle-of-the-pack attack. Between Nene and Marcin Gortat (both 6'11"), the Wizards have the size and skill inside to punish the Raptors' underwhelming frontcourt.
In reality, though, this will be a guard-driven series. Both squads boast All-Stars in the backcourts: Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan for the Raptors and John Wall for the Wizards, with Bradley Beal likely to follow suit at some point.
Beal, as it happens, figures to be a key (if not the key) to Washington surviving this series. He's the best three-point threat the Wizards have and is their best bet to stifle three-point barrages from Toronto. The Raptors finished among the top 10 in both three-point takes and makes this season, and they went 19-2 in games in which they knocked down at least 11 triples. Two of those wins came at Washington's expense.
If the Wizards had even a decent offense, they'd be able to make the Raptors pay for their defensive paucity. But Washington's penchant for launching mid- and long-range two-pointers won't do much to puncture Toronto in that regard.
Throw in the Raptors' advantages in both home court (four games at the raucous Air Canada Centre) and coaching (Dwane Casey over Randy Wittman), and a seven-game squeak-by seems like the most likely outcome.
Prediction: Toronto in 7
West 1st Round: Golden State Warriors (No. 1) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (No. 8)
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Welcome to the playoffs, Anthony Davis! Your reward: a first-round date with one of the greatest regular-season teams in NBA history.
Indeed, a matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans, who had to scrap their way into the No. 8 seed on the last day, and the Golden State Warriors, who ran away with the West (not to mention the dish and the spoon), looks more like a baptism by fire for the Brow than a bona fide best-of-seven series.
Then again, to call this a David vs. Goliath matchup would discount how devastating an individual force Davis can be. He played in only two of the regular-season meetings between these teams, but he averaged 29.5 points and 12.5 rebounds and shot 60 percent from the field when he did play.
That includes the 29 points and 10 rebounds he poured in to help the Pelicans top the Warriors on April 7, 103-100, after a misunderstood joke by Andrew Bogut turned into bulletin-board material for New Orleans. As Bogut explained to Sportal:
"In reference to the comments Anthony Davis made when we played them last, it was a joke between the ball boy and one of our guys.
The ball boy took it seriously and ran off to the Pelicans locker room and let them know.
We know now that when we play them again, we won’t have any ball boys in the locker room again (because of that).
It was just a tongue-in-cheek comment, having a bit of fun and they took it a little seriously.
From Anthony Davis’ point of view, you can understand why he was motivated by those comments, but he didn’t understand the context of the conversation.
"
As great as Davis is, even he can only do so much to slow down Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Co.
Some big games from New Orleans' other weapons (Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Quincy Pondexter) would help, but the Pelicans' bottom-nine defense won't offer much resistance against the offensive machine the Dubs have constructed as a complement to their league-leading outfit on the other end.
Still, merely qualifying for the postseason counts as a huge victory for the Pelicans. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, that was enough to save the skins of general manager Dell Demps and head coach Monty Williams for at least another year.
Prediction: Golden State in 5
West 1st Round: Houston Rockets (No. 2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (No. 7)
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Rockets-Mavericks has all the makings of this year's juiciest first-round feud. These two teams are separated by a mere three-and-a-half-hour drive through the Texas plains, but their animosity has more to do with upper management than geographic proximity. Allow Grantland's Jason Concepcion to explain:
"You’ve got [Rockets general manager Daryl] Morey calling [Mavericks owner Mark] Cuban about acquiring Dirk in 2013. And Morey crafting an intricate plan to execute a web of precisely timed deals aimed at landing a third star while preserving the ability to go over the cap to sign Chandler Parsons, only for Cuban to blow the whole thing up, and then walk away in slow motion waving double finger-bombs. Then there’s former Maverick Jason Terry, currently playing the role of "Replaceable Guard Substance With an Annoying Big-Shot Celebration" in Houston.
"
Not to mention that both of these clubs went hard after Dwight Howard during the summer of 2013. At this point, the Mavs are probably fine with that, considering how banged-up Howard has been in Houston and how effective Tyson Chandler was in Dallas this season.
The real intrigue here lies with Parsons, albeit for reasons beyond his place at the center of a Morey-Cuban soap opera. The former Rocket missed the last six games of the regular season while resting his sore right knee.
"Right now, I think if I played, not only do I think I'd further the injury, I know I'm not as good as I could be, and I'd probably hurt more than I'd help," Parsons said earlier this week, per ESPN Dallas' Tim MacMahon.
The Rockets aren't exactly healthy themselves. Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas are both done for the year.
But Houston has seasoned veterans (Jason Terry and Josh Smith) ready, willing and able to fill in at those spots. More importantly, Howard and James Harden are both in fine form, with the former finally healthy after slogging through a knee injury and the latter playing like an MVP from start to finish.
Heroics from Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis and Rajon Rondo could make this series interesting, but Houston should have the upper hand.
Prediction: Houston in 7
West 1st Round: Los Angeles Clippers (No. 3) vs. San Antonio Spurs (No. 6)
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Last year, the Los Angeles Clippers saw their title hopes subverted (in part) by the Donald Sterling fiasco. This time, their ambitions figure to fall victim to a more conventional menace: the San Antonio Spurs.
"We’re as ready as we can be. We’re healthy. We finished the season on a nice run. (14-1)," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, per The Orange County Register's Dan Woike. "That’s damn good. That’s all you can ask for. I know like everyone else knows, even though we ended that way, Game 1 is new. Now the season is all over again, and you have to get ready for that season."
Sure, the Clippers are as ready as they've been all year. Unfortunately for them, the same could be said of San Antonio. Prior to Wednesday's loss to the Pelicans, the Spurs had won 11 in a row and 21 of 24.
Kawhi Leonard's been the one driving the bus in the Alamo City. During that aforementioned stretch, Leonard poured in 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.8 steals while shooting 54 percent from the field (39.7 percent from three) and locking down some of the league's best perimeter players.
Chances are he and Danny Green, an All-Defensive-caliber performer in his own right, figure to spend plenty of time pestering Chris Paul in this series. Paul averaged nearly 20 points and 10 assists against the Spurs this season, but he also turned the ball over four times per game amid their flood of long-armed defenders.
If the Clippers are going to have any shot at upending the defending champs, they'll have to do so from the inside out. Calf injuries to Tiago Splitter and Matt Bonner could leave the Spurs vulnerable to exploitation on the interior from Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Then again, with Tim Duncan playing like a potential Defensive Player of the Year all season and Leonard doing his thing on the perimeter, San Antonio should still have enough in that department to trip up the league's most efficient offense.
Prediction: San Antonio in 6
West 1st Round: Portland Trail Blazers (No. 4) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (No. 5)
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Get the training staffs ready. This Portland-Memphis series is shaping up to be a basketball war of attrition.
And not just because the Grizzlies will look to grit and grind their way into the second round. Both teams will begin the postseason dogged by serious health concerns. Marc Gasol returned from an ankle sprain in time for the season finale, but Memphis remains without Mike Conley (foot sprain) and Tony Allen (hamstring strain) for the time being.
Even those absences pale in comparison to the sheer mass of mangled humanity through which the Trail Blazers are trying to...well, blaze a trail into the second round. Wesley Matthews (torn Achilles) is done for the season. The same could be said for Dorell Wright (broken bone in his left hand) if Portland doesn't stick it out for a while in the playoffs.
The rest of the Blazers' stable of wings is practically depleted as well. Nicolas Batum (right knee contusion), Arron Afflalo (right shoulder strain) and C.J. McCollum (left ankle sprain) are all listed as no better than questionable for Game 1 in Memphis.
One guy who will be there for Portland: All-Star point guard Damian Lillard.
"I'm going to go show. I show up," Lillard told The Oregonian's Jason Quick. "If anybody says I don't show up, then I don't know what they have been watching. I will say that: I'm going to show up."
The Blazers will need some of Lillard's injured teammates to do the same. Otherwise, they don't figure to have enough bodies to hang with the Grizzlies, especially absent home-court advantage in the series.
Prediction: Memphis in 6
Eastern Conference Semifinals: Atlanta Hawks vs. Toronto Raptors
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On paper, the Toronto Raptors look like they might spring an upset on the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks. The Raptors went 3-1 against the East's best team in the regular season and have the size inside to make things tough on the Hawks' front line of Al Horford and Paul Millsap.
But reality tells a different tale about these two teams. Two of Toronto's wins over Atlanta came during the Raptors' 13-2 start—a full month before the Hawks took off on their 19-game winning streak and became one of the East's few beasts. The Raptors' third victory at Atlanta's expense came immediately after the midseason break, during which the Hawks were busy showing off their five All-Stars (four players, one head coach).
All told, this Atlanta team is much better (and much more rested) than the ones Toronto took down during the regular season. That being said, the Hawks will miss Thabo Sefolosha, given his defensive prowess against the likes of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.
Sefolosha's loss leaves Atlanta even more vulnerable on the perimeter than usual. The Hawks allowed the most three-point attempts in the league this season—a weakness that trey-happy Toronto figures to feast on.
But Atlanta shouldn't have any trouble slicing up the Raptors' terrible defense with pinpoint passing and deadly shooting (38 percent from three as a team) from every spot on the floor.
Prediction: Atlanta in 6
Eastern Conference Semifinals: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls
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Cavaliers-Bulls is probably about as intriguing a series as we could see in the Eastern Conference this postseason. Between LeBron James' history against the Bulls, the stars at other positions on both rosters and the Central Division rivalry in play, there will be plenty to chew on if/when Cleveland and Chicago come to blows.
Both teams were totally healthy and sporting their current personnel just once this season: Jan. 19, when the Cavs romped their way to a 108-94 win that wasn't even that close.
The Bulls figure to have a tough time keeping up with Cleveland's red-hot offense, though Chicago isn't lacking for firepower. With Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah on the interior, Jimmy Butler's emergence as a 20-point scorer on the wing and Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and Aaron Brooks filling it up off the bench, these Bulls can score in more ways than any of their predecessors under Tom Thibodeau.
And that's without accounting for Derrick Rose, who can still get to the rim in spurts.
If the Bulls defended as well as Thibs' teams did in the past, they'd have a good shot at beating Cleveland in a series. As is, Chicago might have a strong-enough foundation on defense to make life difficult for the Cavs.
But Noah's persistent knee problems have made an already difficult transition to tracking power forwards that much more harrowing for the former Defensive Player of the Year. If ever there's a time for Kevin Love to demonstrate how vital he and his three-point shot are for the Cavs, this will be it.
Even if it's not, the Bulls can only hope that a worn-down Butler and a banged-up Rose will have enough left in the tank to check James and Kyrie Irving, respectively, on a reliable basis.
Good luck with that.
Prediction: Cleveland in 6
Western Conference Semifinals: Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies
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Assuming the Grizzlies limp their way into the second round, they'll have to hope the Warriors have nicks and bruises of their own to contend with. Golden State has been among the NBA's healthiest teams all season, and its penchant for blowouts has afforded head coach Steve Kerr the leeway to ensure that none of his players have averaged more than Stephen Curry's 32.7 minutes per game.
Memphis won't exactly be hopeless otherwise. The Grizzlies will have the advantage in frontcourt bulk and strength, particularly with Zach Randolph (6'9", 260 lbs) matching up against the undersized Draymond Green (6'7", 230 lbs) at power forward.
"Terrific defender," TNT analyst Charles Barkley said of Green during a recent conference call, per Bay Area News Group's Diamond Leung, "but undersized playing against guys down low."
If the Grizzlies can take advantage of that disparity, they'll have a chance. That would be a change from the regular-season norm, though; Z-Bo averaged 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds against the Dubs this season—one of his worst outputs against any team that Memphis faced more than once.
Otherwise, Memphis' only real option, like that of pretty much any other team, will be to slow down and smother Curry at all costs. Mike Conley and Tony Allen would normally be fit for the task, but both have been battling injuries for some time.
Should the Grizzlies' injury list shrink sufficiently within the next two weeks, this series may well go the distance, with Golden State riding its home-court edge to a Game 7 win.
Prediction: Golden State in 7
Western Conference Semifinals: Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs
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If the recent home-and-home double between the Rockets and Spurs was any indication, San Antonio should have a clear upper hand in this series.
During those two games, Tony Parker made mincemeat of Jason Terry in one (27 points on 13-of-18 shooting); Tim Duncan took Houston's front line to task in the other (29 points on 12-of-15 from the floor); and James Harden shot 11-of-34 (32.4 percent) from the field against the Spurs' stifling wing defenders.
That's the nutshell from which the Rockets will hope to free this matchup. If Houston can disrupt the passing lanes in San Antonio's clockwork offense, it may be able to Texas two-step its way through a tight series.
Having Patrick Beverley back in the mix would aide Houston's cause tremendously in that regard. Beverley seems convinced that he'll be back in action by mid-May—if his team is still dancing by then.
"I don't care about the pain. I can play through pain," Beverley told Fox 26 Sports' Mark Berman. "I've been playing through all type of stuff the whole year, so I can play with the pain. I just have to get this cast off. When the cast comes off May 18, May 20, wrap it up with tape and (I'll) be good to go. I don't care how weak it is. I don't care how strong it is. I don't care about that. As soon as this cast is off I'm back to business."
Whether Beverley's back in time could tilt the series a tad toward the Rockets, but even that might not be enough against a Spurs squad that's been there and done that and has been playing like a true title defender over the last month-and-a-half.
San Antonio has the defensive weapons to neutralize Houston's most important parts (Harden and Dwight Howard), leaving the likes of Trevor Ariza, Josh Smith, Corey Brewer, Jason Terry and Terrence Jones to pick up the slack.
And what a daunting amount of slack there will be against a Spurs squad that figures to be firing on all cylinders by then, assuming Tiago Splitter's calf isn't still bothering him.
Prediction: San Antonio in 5
Eastern Conference Finals: Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
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Barring an unforeseen coalescence on Chicago's part, the Hawks and Cavaliers seem set to collide in the Eastern Conference Finals.
These two teams have taken turns dominating the East this season. Atlanta was in the midst of its franchise-record 19-game winning streak when LeBron James returned from his two-week sabbatical to ignite Cleveland's sensational second-half spurt.
Between Jan. 13 (James' first game back) and April 9 (just before the Cavs strategically rested their stars against Boston), Cleveland sported the league's most lethal offense and wasn't a far cry from Atlanta on the other end, per NBA.com.
The playoffs, though, are a different story—one that most of the Cavs' constituents haven't read yet. Individually, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson haven't so much as dipped their toes in the treacherous waters of the postseason. As a team, Cleveland is as green as they come under pressure—even more so after general manager David Griffin revamped the roster during the course of the campaign.
Atlanta, on the other hand, has continuity and experience on its side. This will be the Hawks' eighth straight postseason appearance and their second in as many seasons under Mike Budenholzer. The only major change between last year's edition and this year's is the return of Al Horford, who's played a pivotal part in Atlanta's move from eighth to first in the standings.
Horford alone, though, hasn't done much to correct the Hawks' bugaboo on the boards. For the third season running, Atlanta finished among the league's bottom five in rebounding percentage, per NBA.com. Part of that's by design; the Hawks are dead-last in offensive rebounding percentage on account of their systematic preference for getting back on defense.
Still, Atlanta's frontcourt of Horford (6'10") and Paul Millsap (6'8") is undersized, without much in the way of rim protection or glass cleaning compared to the league average. Cleveland's players are well above the norm in terms of both collecting caroms (Love and Mozgov) and penetrating the paint (James and Irving).
In a series that figures to be nip-and-tuck from the opening tip, that disparity could be enough to tilt the tables in the Cavs' favor.
Prediction: Cleveland in 6
Western Conference Finals: Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs
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Traveling that treacherous stretch of road through the Alamo City will be no easy feat, but if the Warriors are going to contend for a title, that's exactly what they'll have to do.
And if there's any team in the NBA that can muffle the Warriors' magical season, it's the Spurs. They were the only squad to whom Golden State lost a season series in 2014-15.
The most recent of those results—an impressive 107-92 win over Dubs in San Antonio—cast the Spurs back toward the top of the title-contending heap. Kawhi Leonard alone was responsible for seven of Golden State's 10 turnovers that day, along with his game-high 26 points on the other end.
Leonard and Danny Green have had success against the Splash Brothers in past playoffs, too. Two years ago, Gregg Popovich's decision to stick those two on Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson while leaving Tony Parker to fend for himself against Harrison Barnes paid off handsomely for San Antonio. The Warriors went to Barnes time and again, thereby taking the ball out of the hands of Golden State's most lethal weapons.
Back then, Mark Jackson, a known devotee of matchup-exploitation basketball, was the one calling the shots. Chances are, Steve Kerr won't be seduced into that same decision, especially given his familiarity with Pop's Jedi mind tricks.
Overall, this Warriors team is miles ahead of where the 2013 edition was. It's more experienced than its predecessor, with the up-and-comers of yesteryear (i.e. Curry, Thompson, Barnes and Draymond Green) now having found their footing as bona fide stars and pivotal role players alike.
The allure of the Spurs' dynasty here is strong, but destiny seems to be on Golden State's side. The Warriors won't be able to roll San Antonio the way they did the rest of the league this season, but those 67 wins—and the home-court advantage they begat—will speak loudly when these two tangle in Game 7 at Oracle Arena.
Prediction: Golden State in 7
NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
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A Finals series between the Warriors and Cavaliers would have almost as many storylines to follow as your average episode of Game of Thrones.
There's the league's best player (LeBron James) taking on the best team (Golden State), and this year's likely MVP (Stephen Curry) versus every year's default MVP (James). There's also the guy the Warriors chose to keep (Klay Thompson) opposite the guy they might've otherwise traded for (Kevin Love).
And who could forget the two NBA rookie coaches, one of whom (David Blatt) probably would've been on the staff of the other (Steve Kerr) had the Cavs not come calling?
As far as the actual basketball is concerned, Golden State would have the upper hand across a host of categories. The Dubs are far superior defensively to what the Cavs bring to the table. They're much deeper too, with two former All-Stars (David Lee and Andre Iguodala) anchoring a superb second unit.
Those two attributes alone would go hand-in-hand within this matchup. Golden State can summon a host of versatile defenders—from Thompson and Draymond Green to Harrison Barnes, Iguodala and Shaun Livingston—to check James and Kyrie Irving over the course of a quarter, game or series.
This doesn't mean the Warriors will blow the Cavs out of the water. Beating James over the course of seven games is no easy feat, even if the Spurs made it look that way last June.
But Golden State may well reach the level of play San Antonio found, assuming the Warriors haven't already. And even if they don't, the Dubs can count on home-court advantage, with a potential Game 7 at a raucous Oracle Arena, to carry them to their first title in 40 years.
Prediction: Golden State in 6
Stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com. Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
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