NBA Finals 2016: Championship Series Schedule, TV Info and Predictions
Doesn’t it feel like we were just here?
The LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers taking on Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors. The King against the Baby-Faced Assassin. The best player against the MVP.
Good times.
Now, we’re nearly right back to that same spot.
But the Oklahoma City Thunder have a say in this, too.
Golden State defeated Oklahoma City, 108-101, on Saturday night, which will bring the wildly entertaining Western Conference Finals back to Golden State's Oracle Arena for Game 7 on Monday.
The winner of the deciding battle will only have two days to prepare for the well-rested Cavaliers, who closed out the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 on Friday.
Finals Schedule
| 1 | Thursday, June 2 | TBD | ABC |
| 2 | Sunday, June 5 | TBD | ABC |
| 3 | Wednesday, June 8 | TBD | ABC |
| 4 | Friday, June 10 | TBD | ABC |
| 5* | Monday, June 13 | TBD | ABC |
| 6* | Thursday, June 16 | TBD | ABC |
| 7* | Sunday, June 19 | TBD | ABC |
If Oklahoma City wins, the Cavaliers will have home-court advantage (Cavs-Cavs-Thunder-Thunder-Cavs-Thunder-Cavs). If Golden State wins, the Warriors will have home-court advantage (Warriors-Warriors-Cavs-Cavs-Warriors-Cavs-Warriors).
All NBA Finals games will be broadcast on ABC. They can be streamed here.
Predictions
J.R. Smith makes amends
Last year, J.R. Smith was terrible in the Finals.
He averaged 12.8 points—a fine number for a career 13.2-point scorer—but his shooting percentages were ugly. After shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 39.6 beyond the arc throughout the 2014-15 playoffs, Smith’s averages dropped to 32.8 and 29.3 percent, respectively.
The former New York Knick didn’t run from anything. He knew he was bad, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
The biggest problems arose when James was off the floor. Smith—along with Matthew Dellavedova, James Jones and Iman Shumpert—couldn’t score without the King facilitating, per ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh.
Yes, literally:
Keep in mind, though, that Kyrie Irving was injured in Game 1 and Kevin Love went down in the first round.
Smith can get his own shot, but he’s at his best playing off the Big Three. With Uncle Drew and Love back in business this time around, expect Smith to play with less pressure and more breathing room.
Tristan Thompson (sort of) earns his money
Tristan Thompson will always be overpaid.
The Cavaliers big man signed a five-year, $82 million contract on Oct. 22—a massive deal for a player with a severely limited offensive skill set.
Still, he was a monster in last year’s Finals, which is likely why the Cavaliers dumped so much money on him.
Thompson is a bruiser who can move. Instead of serving as a block of cement in the paint, the 25-year-old is mobile, athletic and a supremely skilled rebounder. He reached double-digit boards in all six games against Golden State last year (averaging 13) while scoring 10 points on 50 percent shooting.
The Cavaliers didn’t pay big bucks to have Thompson average 7.8 points and nine rebounds in the regular season.
They paid him to slow down guys like Bismack Biyombo in the Eastern Conference Finals, as noted by Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com:
They paid him to help Cleveland win a title.
Thompson’s success against the Warriors speaks for itself. His quickness allows him to stay on the floor when they go small, which, in turn, enables him to feast in the middle.
Even if Cleveland’s opponent is the Thunder, who deploy an athletic front line of Steven Adams, Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter, Thompson will even the playing field.
Adams, especially, has become a star throughout these playoffs. Draymond Green is often overpowered against the long-haired New Zealander, but Thompson won’t be.
Expect a strong series from T.T. no matter who Cleveland’s opponent is.
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