Cavaliers are better, but so are the champions
OAKLAND, CALIF.— Last season’s Eastern and Western Conference champions will meet again when the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors play in Game 1 of the NBA final here at Oracle Arena Thursday night. But while the names scrawled across the front of the jerseys remain the same, both teams are significantly different — and improved — from their meeting a year ago.
Sweeping changes have reshaped the Cavaliers that took the court for the 2015 final. The coach that led the Cavaliers last year, David Blatt, was fired at midseason and replaced by lead assistant Tyronn Lue. Cleveland’s roster will feature Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love — two players who missed the final last year with respective knee and shoulder injuries. This year’s team also includes Channing Frye, whose acquisition via trade has banished center Timofey Mozgov to the end of the bench and improved the Cavaliers’ offensive efficiency.
The most obvious difference for the Warriors is evidenced by their championship ring-adorned fingers. Last season they were upstarts. This sea- son they enter the series as reigning champions. And despite minimal changes to the roster, the Warriors have still seen exponential growth, plainly demonstrated by the team’s NBA-record 73 wins this season.
“Golden State [is] still a great basketball team,” said Mark Jackson, the former coach of the Warriors and current ESPN analyst, on a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “I think [they’re] similar as far as talent is concerned . . . Last year they did not come in as champs. That’s a huge difference. That’s a difference in mentality. That’s a team that has gotten it done.
“The difference with Cleveland, obviously, to me . . . a new coach. And a huge difference is (being) healthy and whole. I expect it to be an incredible finals.”
Without Irving and Love last season, there was an immense burden placed upon LeBron James to carry the Cavaliers over the finish line by himself. James nearly did so, lifting Cleveland to a 2-1 series lead only to have the Warriors clinch the championship with three straight victories.
This time, James will have far more help, particularly on offence, with Irving and Love in the mix. The threepoint shooting of Frye and J.R. Smith figures to give him more room to operate as well. But the presence of Irving and Love comes at a cost. Both struggle mightily on the defensive end of the floor, a factor that may counteract any positives their offense provides.
Last season, while James carried the load offensively, the Cavaliers became a stout defensive unit in the absence of their offense-first stars, with Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson both playing key roles. While both of them remain rotation fixtures, Cleveland is going to have to balance their playing time against the offensive contributions of Irving and Love.
“I thought last year, James will never have a finer moment than what he put forth in that final series,” said Jeff Van Gundy, the former coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, who will be working the series for ESPN, alongside Jackson. “To me, he was clearly the MVP of that series. “But they are going to have to be even better this year.”
The differences between the Warriors of 2015 and those of 2016 are more subtle but equally impactful. Power forward Draymond Green has developed into a second point guard for the Warriors, averaging over seven assists per game in the regular season while remaining one of the best and most versatile defensive players in the league. That has allowed Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to play more off the ball, giving both the chance to run off screens to get open shots.
“They shoot the ball extremely well,” James told reporters this week. “Some of the shots, there’s nothing that you can do about it. Better offence beats great defence any day. “But we have a game plan and we have to follow it and be true to it.”