Now that the NBA Finals are in the books and the Golden State Warriors are champions, it is time for some reflection on what happened … and what might happen down the road. Specifically, is David Blatt safe in Cleveland moving forward?
CLEVELAND — The smell always gets you. It is usually champagne, and it is usually quite strong. In this case, it went beyond pungent. Cinder block walls could not contain the smell of Mumm Napa Brut Reserve emanating from the locker room of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors. You could smell it outside the locker room 15 minutes after the trophy presentation had concluded, and a half-hour later you could smell it down the hallway outside the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room,
The NBA season could be over tonight, with everyone ready to anoint the Golden State Warriors as the next dynasty. Or the Finals could be headed to a Game 7, the two best words in sports. Just under two weeks ago, 15 members of the Sheridan Hoops staff offered their Finals predictions. Seven of us still have a chance to have both the correct winning team and number of games. Will the Warriors close it out? Can the Cavaliers stay alive? Here are the
So who is the Finals MVP now? After three games, it appeared to be LeBron James, who singlehandedly has kept the Cleveland Cavaliers in this series with historic performances. After four games, it appeared to be Andre Iguodala, who has been the primary defender on James and finally slowed him in Game 4, tacking on 22 points and eight boards as the Golden State Warriors evened the series. And after five games, it appears to be Stephen Curry, who in Game 5 finally
For the second time in these NBA Finals, there is an extra day off between games. The first time was between Games 1 and 2. LeBron James has noted that each of the extra days has come while the series is out west, where the Warriors sleep in their own beds while the Cavaliers are subjected to the squalor of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. But the Cavs won Game 2 to grab homecourt advantage. After looking spent in a
CLEVELAND – This baby was all but in the books as LeBron James, scoreless in the fourth quarter, dribbled upcourt halfheartedly with 4:10 remaining and his team trailing by 14 points. There was only the slightest of chances that the Cavaliers could pull off a comeback to match the one the Warriors had engineered in Game 2, but James’ heart and head were not in it – and Iggy pounced. With a somewhat casual swipe, Andre Iguodala knocked the ball away
CLEVELAND – Steve Kerr has been very good at one thing in the NBA Finals – telling it like it is. Everyone watching this series can see the problem with Stephen Curry’s body language, and Kerr called out the MVP for it in his postgame interview Tuesday night. When your best player if lifeless and docile, you have to find a way to get through to him. Whether calling him out publicly was the right move is open to debate, but
It’s certainly not a stretch to say that the winner of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night likely will the championship. If the Cleveland Cavaliers win, they will have a 3-1 lead and have three chances for LeBron James to snag one more victory for the city’s first pro sports title since 1964. If the Golden State Warriors win, they will have evened the series at 2-2 while reclaiming home court advantage, They also will have reclaimed some of