The NBA Finals Prediction

Bring It Already

I'm just underwater on personal stuff right now, to the point where just watching the games might be the only sports related thing I can do, so the usual Case For / Case Against column is going to have to miss.

There are reasons to pick the Cavs. They are full strength, hitting like hell from the arc, deeper than any James Gang team in years. They are 12-2 in the playoffs, and have LeBron James when he's not exhausted, which was good enough to go 2-1 in the Finals against the Dubs last year before the avalanche came. Stephen Curry isn't 100%, and when he's not 100%, the Warriors are too dependent on Klay Thompson, who is streaky in both directions.

But they don't have the defensive players that OKC does, which means they won't be able to sustain runs. They are always going to have one sieve on the floor, and maybe two, if Kyrie Irving doesn't have another gear. There's basically no coach, as always, and they are going to need JR Smith to be a net gain. They don't have home court.

I think it's going to go long, because I don't think the Dubs are going to be able to stop James either, and we might see some Questionably Lucrative ref work. And Draymond Green could over-amp himself into issues here. But not to the point of losing the series.

Dubs in seven. Heroin Hoop for all. The best end of NBA playoffs ever, to help us forget how much of this wasn't very good. And the shortest possible off-season. I'm picking what I'm rooting for, in other words.

Game on!