Book it: Cavs repeat as champions

I am picking the Cavaliers to beat Golden State, 4 games to 2, to repeat as NBA champions and here’s why:

•Let’s start with LeBron James. James scored 41 points in Game 5 of the Finals last year and 41 points in Game 6. He scored 27 points, dished out 11 assists and grabbed 11 rebounds in Game 7 to become just the third player in NBA history to post a triple-double in Game 7.

James carried the team on his back to help the Cavaliers become the first NBA team in Finals history to come back from a 3-1 deficit, and somehow he is playing even better now than he was a year ago when he was named Finals MVP. He is averaging 32.5 points a game — 6.2 points a game better than last year — along with eight rebounds and seven assists.

James in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals surpassed Michael Jordan’s all-time record of 5,987 points scored in the playoffs. He briefly raised his right index finger to acknowledge the moment. But that is not the accomplishment by Jordan that James is chasing. To do that, he has to earn three more rings just to tie the six earned by Jordan.

Jordan did not contact James to congratulate him for breaking the record. Maybe that’s because he fears James is getting closer to taking his title as the all-time greatest player in basketball.

• Kevin Love wasn’t healthy for all seven games of the Finals last year. He suffered a concussion in Game 2 and sat out Game 3 because of it. He was cleared to return for Game 4, but he wasn’t himself until the crucial Game 7. He totaled 11 rebounds and 20 rebounds in Games 4, 5 and 6. He grabbed 14 rebounds, scored nine points and had two steals in 30 minutes in Game 7.

Love is now healthy. He is coming off a 17-point, 17-rebound East finals clinching game in Boston. He will be the X-factor for the Cavs if the Warriors concentrate too much on James and Kyrie Irving.

• The Cavaliers are not intimidated about playing the first two games in Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Cavs won Games 5 and 7 there last year. Warriors guard Steph Curry won’t admit it, but the Cavs are in the heads of the Golden State players. It was there in the eyes of Curry and guard Klay Thompson after Game 6 last year and my guess is that look of doubt will be back if the Cavaliers even gain a split in the first two games.

• Cavs general manager David Griffin added Kyle Korver and Deron Williams, plus Derrick Williams to the roster. They do not make up for the Warriors adding forward Kevin Durant, but the lane will open up for Irving and James when Korver starts hitting from the corner.

This prediction goes against what more basketball-savvy reporters than me expect. According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, based on an in-depth statistical analysis, the Warriors have a 93 percent chance of taking the title back from the Cavaliers. The numbers forecast the series will end in five games. Here is the important thing to remember:

Those numbers are based on regular-season results. The Cavaliers were skittish in the regular season. They lost 13 of their last 22 games. They lost their last four games and in the process the No. 1 seed in the East. They have gone 12-1 since then.

The Cavaliers love the underdog role. Their bite is worse than their bark, as they will prove for the second straight year when the Finals end.

FRANK GUNN — THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP, FILE LeBron James celebrates with J.R. Smith after the Cavaliers defeated the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals last season.