NBA Rumors: Finals Put Cavs vs Warriors on Collision Course Again, Who Will Win this Time?
After a demoralizing loss to Golden State Warriors in last year's championship match, a more robust Cleveland Cavaliers emerged from the Eastern Conference race as the strongest title contender for this year's Finals. For the second time, the Cavs led by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love will face the defending champions, the Warriors led by Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson.
The Cavs looked exhaustingly depleted after a slew of injuries prevented Love and Irving to play at their max strength. Pundits repeatedly say that last year's title run could have ended differently for the Warriors without the injuries that plagued Cavs' lead players.
"There's definitely a different feeling...Having these guys right here at full strength, having our team at full strength and the way I feel personally, I appreciate this moment, to be able to be a part of it and be there once again," said James who recently celebrated his 6th trip to the finals after the Cavs knocked the Raptors off the Eastern Conference finals as quoted by NJ.Com.
On the other side of the competition, Golden State has just made another NBA record after becoming the 10th team to bounce back and win the series after an initial 3-1 deficit against OKC Thunder, Fox Sports reported. For this season, the Curry-led Warriors made remarkable NBA records such as the greatest regular season performance (73-9) that surpassed the Jordan-led Bulls' record in 1995-96 plus the back-to-back unanimous MVP award.
Meanwhile, Cavs guard JR Smith has been rooting for the Golden State Warriors to win in the decisive Game 7 in order to settle the score with the team that beat them in last year's championship bid.
"I wouldn't want it no other way, because we get another chance at it for one and to beat the team that beat you, I think that's a sweeter feeling," Smith said as quoted by ESPN.
