NBA Finals 2016: Schedule, Format and Predictions for Championship Matchup
For much of the 2016 NBA postseason, it seemed that the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were on a collision course, destined to meet in the NBA Finals.
The Warriors went 73-9 in the regular season. Surely, they were going to navigate their way through the Western Conference, even if their best player in Stephen Curry missed a few games and looked less than 100 percent in others. The Eastern Conference could only throw cupcake opponents at the Cavaliers, who are much healthier this time around than they were last season (when they reached the last round of the postseason anyway).
However, some truly spirited play has made the prospect of an Oklahoma City Thunder-Toronto Raptors final a distinct possibility.
The Thunder are up 3-1 on one of the best teams of all time, while the Raptors are down 3-2 to the Cavs after an embarrassing 116-78 loss on Wednesday evening but are at least heading back to Toronto for a Game 6. A win there, and all bets are off in Game 7.
The NBA Finals are tantalizingly close for all four teams and their fans, so here's a reminder of the schedule and format for the championship round.
Schedule, Format
| Game 1 | Thursday, June 2 | 9 p.m. | ABC | WatchESPN |
| Game 2 | Sunday, June 5 | 8 p.m. | ABC | WatchESPN |
| Game 3 | Wednesday, June 8 | 9 p.m. | ABC | WatchESPN |
| Game 4 | Friday, June 10 | 9 p.m. | ABC | WatchESPN |
| Game 5* | Monday, June 13 | 9 p.m. | ABC | WatchESPN |
| Game 6* | Thursday, June 16 | 9 p.m. | ABC | WatchESPN |
| Game 7* | Sunday, June 19 | 8 p.m. | ABC | WatchESPN |
While the exact locations are obviously yet to be decided, we do know the series will follow a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the team sporting a better regular-season winning percentage getting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home. This will be the third year in a row the NBA uses this format. Previously, a 2-3-2 format was the standard for decades.
Championship Predictions
OK, so the Raptors are still in this series, but they have a psychological mountain to climb after the shellacking they took in Game 5 on Wednesday.
The Cavaliers drummed up a 61-35 lead by halftime, which ESPN Stats & Info pointed out was the largest of its kind:
After combining for 67 points in Game 4, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan managed just 27 together in Game 5. Their shooting has been mostly horrid this postseason, making them an unreliable pair to count on when it comes to taking on a team featuring the great LeBron James and a host of other talented players.
The Raptors might force a Game 7, but they have been outscored 337-251 in three games in Cleveland, so look for the Cavaliers to advance to the NBA Finals.
As for Oklahoma City-Golden State, one would be foolish to count out the latter team. Sure, the Warriors have to win three games in a row against a team that appears to have truly dug deep and found itself within the past couple of weeks, but it's doable.
An optimist would point out that they only have to win one of those games on the road.
Pessimists, realists and Thunder fans can counter by pointing out that the Thunder already won Game 1 in Oakland and that coach Billy Donovan has unleashed a lineup seemingly capable of tearing down the walls of civilization, or at least those of the Oracle Arena.
According to NewsOK.com's Anthony Slater, the quintet of Serge Ibaka, Kevin Durant, Andre Roberson, Dion Waiters and Russell Westbrook was horrid during the regular season, but it has turned out to be capable of smacking the shine off of Golden State:
"There was no reason to think that combo would reemerge this postseason. Then it did. Donovan broke it out briefly and unsuccessfully in Game 1 against the Warriors, kept it buried in Game 2 and then, surprisingly, went to it early and often in Games 3 and 4.
Much like the Twin Tower adjustment in the Spurs series, Donovan's lineup toggle completely tilted the series. During the Thunder's two blowout victories of the Warriors in OKC, the Westbrook, Waiters, Roberson, Durant, Ibaka combo outscored Golden State by an outrageous 91-35 margin in 25 minutes together."
NBA.com's stats page reports that the lineup has an astounding 139.8 net offensive rating and 71.3 net defensive rating against the Warriors.
Since most other lineups feature the cooly efficient Durant and a buzz saw in Westbrook in any case—you know, two of the top five or so players in the league at the heights of their powers—it's fairly safe to say the Thunder have what it takes to close out this series.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr noted the zeal and fervor with which the Thunder are playing, per ESPN.com's Tim Keown:
"They've had a lot of frustration over the years. They're healthy. They're whole. They are determined, and they want what we have. We have a banner hanging up in here and we take great pride in that. It's a hard thing to accomplish, and they've been close, but they haven't done it, and they're coming after us. They're really getting after it and playing well and competing. We've got to stand up to that.
"
Golden State certainly is down but not defeated. The likes of Curry and Klay Thompson are capable of heating up and erasing or extending leads with a barrage of threes at any point. The Warriors will claw back a win, but look for the Thunder to advance in Game 6.
This scenario leaves us with a Thunder-Cavaliers matchup for the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
It will presumably be Cleveland's best chance at dismantling the city's long-running sports curse in quite some time, seeing as the Thunder came into the postseason as only the third-scariest team from the Western Conference.
The Cavaliers might also have an advantage in terms of readiness and energy, as they breezed through the first two rounds of the playoffs with four-game sweeps while the Thunder were busy dropping three games combined in a Texas two-step with the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.
However, the Thunder's length and athleticism, especially on defense, appears well suited to defeating Cleveland.
Durant's long appendages and comfort switching on screens make him ideal for challenging the Cavaliers' reliance on the three-pointer. Westbrook is capable of blowing by Kyrie Irving and collapsing the defense with ease, while Ibaka should be a headache for Tristan Thompson down low.
The small-ball lineup discussed earlier might not fare so well against Cleveland, but the rugged duo of Enes Kanter and Steven Adams can certainly provide more muscle for keeping James out of the paint and powering over Kevin Love on the other end of the court.
Sorry, Cleveland, I'm taking the Thunder in seven games in that matchup.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
