NBA Finals 2015: Biggest Takeaways from Cavs vs. Warriors Series

The Golden State Warriors are NBA champions. That, of course, is the top takeaway from their 2015 NBA Finals victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.  

Yet there is much more to absorb from the entertaining series. Not only did head coach Steve Kerr guide Golden State to its first title in 40 years, but he also advertised a modern style that critics can no longer doubt.

While LeBron James couldn't carry a cast of misfits to Cleveland's first championship crown, the King remains deserving of his throne atop the NBA. His conquerors deserve some time to celebrate, but they'll quickly turn their attention to retaining a pivotal free agent this summer.

Let's break down some of the key lessons learned from the NBA Finals. 

Small Lineups and Big Shooting

Two games into the series, starting center Andrew Bogut vanished to the bench. Without the defensive cog clogging their spacing, the Warriors thrived.

Down 2-1 heading into Game 4, Kerr decided to alter a unit that generated a plus-329 net rating, per 82games.com. With Andre Iguodala inserted into the starting lineup, Golden State averaged 104 points through three straight victories.

As shown by ESPN after Game 5's decisive win, the change produced massive results on both ends of the court:

Heavily utilizing a grouping with the 6'7" Draymond Green at center, the Warriors created nightmare matchups for Cleveland's defenders. This enabled them to drain 67 three-pointers in the series, wagging their tongues at Phil Jackson and crushing the silly theory of shooting teams shrinking during the playoffs.

In fact, all four conference final representatives finished the season among the top five three-point shooting clubs. This isn't a one-off occurrence, as many recent champions have flourished from downtown, courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info:

In back-to-back defeats, Cleveland successfully derailed Golden State's pace, stopping the league's fastest offense from running a tired, limited rotation into oblivion. Stephen Curry discussed the shift with ESPN.com's J.A. Adande:

"

When we have that [small] lineup out there in parts of the game, we were able to turn defensive stops into transition and just pick the tempo and the pace of the game up. And if we can do that from the jump, we thought we'd put some pressure on and not let them be so comfortable with the lead like they've had the last couple games.

"

This is a copycat league, which is bad news for slow-footed centers relying entirely on their size. The league will only continue to grow more enamored by pacing and spacing, especially since the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat used a similar formula during their championship runs.

Warriors Need Draymond Green

Kerr's adjustments wouldn't have mattered much had Green not turned a lackluster series around. The power forward went 8-of-30 during the first three games, frequently passing up clean looks stemming from Cleveland trapping Curry. 

With Bogut sidelined, the pending free agent averaged 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists through the Warriors' final three victories. His Game 6 triple-double (16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) places him in elite company, as observed by ESPN Stats & Info:

Golden State's small-lineup success isn't possible without Green's versatility as a stout defender who can bang bodies down low and distribute the ball on offense. Per NBA.com, the club outscored opponents by 192 points with him on the court. Nobody outside of the Warriors held a rating above 80, with Curry trailing in second at plus-163. 

In other words, the 25-year-old restricted free agent is getting paid this summer. If they want to retain Green, the Warriors will have to present him a max contract or match a max offer sheet.

It sounds like Golden State fans have nothing to worry about. “I’ll be here,” Green told Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. “I love this group of guys.”

LeBron James is Good at Basketball

Who knew? When James signed up for a Cleveland reunion, he didn't picture joining forces with J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov, Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova. With Kevin Love injured during the first round and Kyrie Irving knocked out in Game 1, James was forced to abandon his principles of efficient basketball.

James mustered a 39.8 field-goal percentage during the series while continuing a three-point funk that persisted throughout the playoffs. Yet the four-time MVP had no choice but to keep the ball in his hands and slow down the tempo with constant isolation offense.

Compelled to do it all, James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game. According to NBA on ESPN, he generated more than half of Cleveland's offense, which performed incredibly ineffectively with the ball out of his hands:

His supporting cast didn't help during the few moments of rest afforded to the overworked superstar, per ESPN's Tom Haberstroh:

The grumpy hot-take artists complaining about James falling on the losing side of four Finals aren't worth a basketball fan's time. James' greatness is abundantly clear to 99.5 percent of NBA viewers.

Unfortunately for him and the Cavs, the deeper Warriors are also amazing.