By Alex Paramo
The NBA Finals are about to start and while many College Basketball Fans* will be rolling their eyes most sports fans will be watching and following how the several sub-plots unfold! After all: Lebron James is back in the finals with his new/old team, JR Smith is stepping front and center into the biggest stage, Kyrie Irving is healthier, Klay Thompson is no longer dizzy and Stephen Curry is un-guardable!
My pick, unlike the line, is Cleveland Cavaliers over the Golden State Warriors in 5 (Shout Out to my buddy Steve Keszy of “Swamp Brothers” TV fame). Why you ask? Well here are 5 Reasons:
- Size Matters – Cleveland is just too big. Irving and Shumpert will run the splash brothers off the 3 point line leaving the Cavs big front line to swat shots and collect rebounds (James 6-8, Tristan Thompson 6-9 and Mozgov 7-1).
- Unstoppability: Cleveland’s Unstoppable (LeBron) is more unstoppable than Golden State’s unstoppable (Curry) – Curry will break down his man, drive and float it but it will be more difficult with the Cleveland front line (see #1). Lebron breaks down his man and heads to the rim with a full head of steam – Look Out!!
- Lining up Kerr – Andrew Bogut and former All-Star David Lee are not being used effectively. These guys should play significant minutes to counter Thompson and Mozgov but they won’t. Bogut for one is a rhythm player that needs real minutes to get going.
Benches or Chairs – The Cavs have seasoned AND still capable veterans (Perkins, Miller, Marion, J.James alongside their super-sub: see below- No Clowning Around – J.R. Smith’s clown tactics are well publicized and known, but the man can play ball. He can shoot, defend, perform well under pressure and is a savvy player still playing his best ball. Comparitively, Golden State’s 6th man, Andre Iguodala, has started to decline in performance in his career.
There you have it, 5 reasoned and rational points showing why the Cavs will roll the Warriors in 5 games. How can I be proven wrong? – If Kerr plays his big men more, if Blatt doesn’t instruct his D to play the splash brothers to shoot, if J.R. implodes, and if wildcard Shawn Livingston gets some real minutes – then we will have a great series!
*Note to College Basketball Fans: Watching Zone defenses is not at all pleasurable!
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Alex Paramo
Alex Paramo is originally from NYC and is of Colombian Ancestry He is an Author, Co-Founder of Community Publishing and Marketing Coordinator at the Rail Yards Market in Albuquerque, N.M.
Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities. #JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org We are proud to be a community partner in the Rail Yards Market.
