Cavs, Warriors eye finals showdown
Washington, May 14: Defending champion Cleveland and powerhouse Golden State enter Sunday’s start of the playoff semifinals pushing toward an unprecedented third consecutive NBA Finals showdown, adding more sparks to an already historic rivalry.
Golden State entertains San Antonio in Sunday’s best-of-seven Western Conference final opener while the LeBron James-led Cavaliers await Monday’s game seven winner between Boston and Washington in an Eastern Conference final that begins Wednesday in Cleveland.
The Warriors beat Cleveland for the 2015 crown and were one win shy of capping a repeat title run last year after a record 73-win campaign only to have James spark the Cavaliers from a 3-1 deficit to the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, taking the trophy in seven games.
So it’s no wonder that Warriors guard Stephen Curry, the two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, can ponder a matchup with the Cavs even as he admits Golden State has plenty of work ahead to oust the Spurs. “We’ll hammer it out when we get there but we’ve got four more wins to go,” Curry said. “We’ll be keeping an eye on them.”
Both the Warriors and Cavaliers have swept through the first two playoff rounds without dropping a game.
But even “King James” admits: “We have another level and we believe we can get there.”
In the playoffs, James is averaging 34.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game. And last year, he became the first player in NBA history to lead the finals in every major statistical category.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said his team’s basic defensive approach to the Warriors is “Pray” and Argentine guard Manu Ginobili played up Golden State’s favoured role.
“We are playing one of the best teams, like, almost ever,” Ginobili said. “They’re tough and they added to that incredible offensive talent and good, solid defence. They have the whole package. It makes complete sense for them to be the favourites.”
The Warriors won an NBA-best 67 games this season but the Spurs were next with 61.