NBA Finals Schedule 2015: Full TV Coverage and Picks for Championship Clash
The 2015 NBA Finals are new yet familiar at the same time.
Since 1984, only eight organizations have captured a championship. While most sports thrive on parity, the NBA functions on dynasties. This year, however, a different team will be crowned.
The Golden State Warriors have not won a title since 1975, giving them the longest wait between championship trips in NBA history. As for the Cleveland Cavaliers, they're one of many franchises with an empty trophy case.
Then again, this marks LeBron James' fifth consecutive Finals appearance. Although the Cavaliers are new to the party, James versus the Western Conference juggernaut is far from a new story. Yet it remains a gripping one, with Stephen Curry looking to extend Cleveland's sports misery.
| 1 | Thur., June 4 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Golden State Warriors | 9 p.m. | ABC |
| 2 | Sun., June 7 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Golden State Warriors | 8 p.m. | ABC |
| 3 | Tue., June 9 | Golden State Warriors | Cleveland Cavaliers | 9 p.m. | ABC |
| 4 | Thur., June 11 | Golden State Warriors | Cleveland Cavaliers | 9 p.m. | ABC |
| 5* | Sun., June 14 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Golden State Warriors | 8 p.m. | ABC |
| 6* | Tue., June 16 | Golden State Warriors | Cleveland Cavaliers | 9 p.m. | ABC |
| 7* | Fri., June 19 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Golden State Warriors | 9 p.m | ABC |
Tale of the Tape
Looking at the full picture, it's hard to make an argument for Cleveland outside of LeBron James. During the regular season, Golden State led the NBA in wins (67), point differential (+10.1) and net rating (+11.4). The Warriors nearly finished first in both offensive and defensive rating, trailing the Los Angeles Clippers by 0.1 points scored per 100 possessions.
Throw in home-court advantage for a squad that has lost only three games inside the Oracle Arena, and the Warriors are overwhelming favorites to dethrone King James. ESPN's Alok Pattani broke down the Basketball Power Index (BPI) data:
Those wanting a long series, however, can take solace in the season results not telling the full story. If those games were truly meaningful, James might not have taken a two-week sabbatical to recuperate physically and mentally from a disappointing start.
Cleveland is also a different team now than the one that showed up in November. Acquiring Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert provided the club needed size, scoring and defense, respectively. Sheridan Hoops' Chris Sheridan noted its strong play shortly after attaining reinforcements:
After closing out the Eastern Conference Finals, James discussed the importance of those moves, per Cleveland.com's Joe Noga.
"It brought our team to a place where I felt we could compete," James said. "But I still thought I had to be very patient and lead the team. But we knew we had the pieces to compete."
The Cavaliers also lead all playoff participants with a plus-10.1 net rating, fueled by 108.6 points per 100 possessions. While the offense hasn't always been pretty, with James posting high-volume stat lines more reminiscent of Russell Westbrook, it's getting the job done.
| Cavaliers | 108.6 | 98.5 | 10.1 |
| Warriors | 107.3 | 98.9 | 8.4 |
Golden State, of course, didn't enjoy the benefit of starting Round 1 against a sub-.500 organization before watching most of its star adversaries (Pau Gasol, DeMarre Carroll, Kyle Korver) get hurt. Fortunate to avoid the Clippers and San Antonio Spurs, the Warriors still endured a much tougher plight consisting of Anthony Davis, a matchup nightmare in the Memphis Grizzlies and the No. 2-seeded Houston Rockets, who finished the season with more victories and an identical net rating (+3.7) to Cleveland.
For Cleveland to pull off the not-quite-Cinderella upset, it must sustain its defensive improvements against a far superior offense. Curry has put James—and everyone else on the planet—to shame with his elite, efficient scoring. The MVP is averaging 29.2 postseason points per game with 73 three-pointers and a 61.5 true shooting percentage.
A healthy Kyrie Irving hopefully means no more 37 field-goal attempts in a single game for James, but an injured Klay Thompson could force Curry to play a larger role. The shooting guard luckily has a few days to get cleared from his concussion. Without Curry's backcourt companion, the entire dynamic shifts.
If Thompson is good to go, look for the numbers to win out and the deeper Warriors to take care of business in similar fashion to San Antonio dispatching James' Miami Heat last year. For now, his murky status isn't enough to push the pendulum away from Golden State.
Pick: Warriors in five
Advanced stats courtesy of NBA.com.
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