Trilogy's third act features plot twists
James seeking fourth NBA title, while Durant is pursuing his first.
After a summer highlighted by Kevin Durant’s decision to leave Oklahoma City for the star-laden Golden State Warriors, a six-month regular season and three rounds of playoffs, the NBA Finals are right back where they ended last June.
Not that anyone expected anything different.
Take III of the NBA Finals trilogy between Golden State and the Cleveland Cavaliers gives Stephen Curry and Draymond Green a chance to avenge last year’s Warriors collapse and LeBron James the opportunity to add a fourth title in his chase of Michael Jordan’s six. Perhaps most noteworthy, it gives Durant the chance at a first
championship and validation for his decision to leave the Thunder.
“I can’t go out there and do everything on my own or I can’t go out there and just let my teammates do all the work for me,” Durant said Wednesday, a day before the series opener. “I’ve got to do my part, and we’ve all got to make it come together as a group.”
This matchup has seemed ordained since James walked off the court in Oakland last June, having delivered his native northeast Ohio its first major team champion- ship since 1964.
James had won two titles as part of another “superteam” in Miami, but last year’s meant even more to his legacy.
The Warriors have been right there the past two years, winning the franchise’s first title in 40 years in 2015 and then blowing a 3-1 lead last year after a record-breaking 73-win season.
That series turned when Green was suspended for Game 5 and James and Kyrie Irving took over from there.
Here are some other things to watch in Part III:
Finals rematch: Durant and James once in the Finals in different uniforms. James won his first title in 2012 with Miami in a five-game series over Durant and the Thunder. Durant played well, aver- aging 30.6 points and shooting 55 percent, but James came out on top. “I know I’ve grown as a player just through experience from the last five years, but if I don’t go out there and execute, none of that matters,” Durant said. Brown connection: James’ first trip to the Finals came 10 years ago when the Cavs were swept by San Antonio. His coach was Mike Brown, who has been acting coach for the Warriors while Steve Kerr is out following complications from
back surgery. Brown had two stints as coach in Cleveland, leading the team to the playoffs five straight times from 2006-10 before returning in 2013-14 when the Cavs won 33 games.
Underdog Cavs: The Warriors are the clear favorites after sweeping their way through the playoffs with a record-setting margin of victory of 16.3 points per game.
“We’ve had a great season to this point, a great playoff run. And hopefully we keep it going, but we fully respect and are aware that this team we’re playing, they’re the champions and we’re not,” Kerr said. Klay’s shot: One of the few things that hasn’t gone right for Golden State this postseason has been Klay Thompson’s shooting. He’s shooting just 38 percent.
Thompson has been stellar defensively and will likely be counted on to slow Irving, who scored 98 points in the final three games last year, including the series-clinching 3-pointer.