Cavaliers, Warriors ready for Round 3
LeBron James, left, and the Cavs face the Warriors in the NBA Finals for the third year in a row, but now Golden State has Kevin Durant, right.
LeBron James is preparing to face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for the third time in a row. Or, perhaps more accurately, the Warriors are preparing to face him.
James has been the best player in both of the last two Finals, averaging 32.5 points, 12.2 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game in 13 games. It wasn’t always efficient, and that’s a tremendous credit to the Warriors’ defense, but James made sure his play decided the outcome of games.
How will the Warriors respond this time? They have some new tricks, including Steve Kerr’s fill-in coach, Mike Brown, who was James’ coach in the late 2000s. But this ultimately will come down to finding the right players who can attempt to slow James without leaving massive holes in the rest of the defense.
A look at some possibilities.
ANDRE IGUODALA
Iguodala was the 2015 Finals MVP for his efforts on James and would have been a front-runner for 2016 Finals MVP had the Warriors not blown it.
When healthy, Iguodala has the combination of size (6-7 with a 6-11 wingspan), strength, athleticism and instincts required to be great against James. But he hasn’t been anywhere near his normal self this postseason as he has dealt with ankle and knee injuries.
DRAYMOND GREEN
Green has great instincts that make it hard for faster players to get past him, and he might be stronger than James.
But this would be playing right into the Cavaliers’ hands. By defending against James, Green would sacrifice his ability to cause chaos and his strength in the paint. Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love would dominate the boards, and the Cavs would bleed the Warriors dry by having James create from the perimeter.
KEVIN DURANT
He’ll spend a lot of time on James, as he always has. The problem? He’s not great at it. Perhaps because James recognizes Durant is his one true rival at his position, he tends to clean up in this matchup, going 18-5 head-to-head lifetime. He’s a lot stronger than Durant, but he also seems to recognize how to keep the taller, longer forward on his heels in on-ball defense.
Also, like Green, Durant’s best defensive talents would be wasted if he were shadowing James. Expect to see him playing his best defense on Love or even Thompson, not James.
SHAUN LIVINGSTON
James shoved Livingston in the 2015 Finals, and Livingston dunked on James last year. The 31-year-old is 6-7 and has lanky strength. He can’t stop James on a full-time basis, but he’s smart enough to force LeBron to beat him with his jumper.
STEPHEN CURRY
Curry is much stronger than he looks, and he’s ridiculously crafty. James loves posting up Curry and other point guards when they step on him, but Curry’s quick hands and instincts work well in the post. The Warriors wouldn’t want to use this matchup too frequently, but they are OK with Curry switching onto James. And it’s quite fun to watch.
DAVID WEST
Perhaps among the five strongest players in the NBA, West has been one of the best defenders in the league for years. He’s also roughly the same size as James. He’s just nowhere near fast enough to handle James in space. Still, West is the Warriors’ best option on the switch other than Green.
KLAY THOMPSON
Thompson has a deserved reputation as an ace defender, but those matchups come against opposing point guards. He’s always struggled with bigger players, and James makes that even more challenging by being faster than Thompson.