Does anybody believe the Cavs will beat the Warriors?

[Duderonomy]

But but but Kyrie and Love were hurt last year.

Since when has Love been a difference maker?

Since when had Kyrie stayed healthy a full season?

Let the excuses keep coming

[DMAVS41]

If both teams are fully healthy....I think it would be a very close series.

I think the Cavs would have won last year if healthy, but would probably favor the Warriors this year.

But a lot can change.

[JohnnySic]

Yes, they could.

They didn't have Varejao last year in addition to Irving and Love.

Plus, they've added the immortal Mo Williams, the venerable Richard Jefferson, and the quintessential James Jones.

The Cavs are deeper and better on paper.

And they still took 2 games last year despite being very short handed.

[Pushxx]

If both teams are fully healthy....I think it would be a very close series.

I think the Cavs would have won last year if healthy, but would probably favor the Warriors this year.

But a lot can change.

End the thread boys. We can all go home now.

[HurricaneKid]

If both teams are fully healthy....I think it would be a very close series.

I think the Cavs would have won last year if healthy, but would probably favor the Warriors this year.

But a lot can change.

We haven't even seen what the Cavs look like yet. I am betting they are going to look insanely good once they get their full team back. The Spurs have been historically good and still have a ton of upside as they work out how to integrate LMA and West into their team.

I find it particularly strange that everyone seems to think this season is over before XMas. I thought there was an understanding the the NBA season doesn't even start until XMas.

[JohnnySic]

If both teams are fully healthy....I think it would be a very close series.

I think the Cavs would have won last year if healthy, but would probably favor the Warriors this year.

But a lot can change.

I do too.

[leMVP]

Lebron got this.

[DMAVS41]

We haven't even seen what the Cavs look like yet. I am betting they are going to look insanely good once they get their full team back. The Spurs have been historically good and still have a ton of upside as they work out how to integrate LMA and West into their team.

I find it particularly strange that everyone seems to think this season is over before XMas. I thought there was an understanding the the NBA season doesn't even start until XMas.

I was just going off the OP.

I definitely think the Spurs have a good chance to beat the Warriors. They are playing at one of the slowest paces in the league and will be able to grind out possessions in the half court in the playoffs.

LMA is one of the few players in the league good enough to shoot long 2's effectively...which can really screw up defenses.

The Spurs, if healthy, playing at this level they currently are...would barely even be underdogs to the Warriors in a series. And the ability to play Leonard on Curry in certain key stretches is a huge luxury to have...especially in a slowed down game in which you have a great defender anchoring the paint.

It would be a basketball wet dream to watch those teams play in the playoffs fully healthy.

[leBron Bieber]

Would any team beat the cavs without their 2nd n 3rd best player tho

[Fudge]

Meltdown?

[Hopper15]

Couldn't agree more on Kevin Love.

He's going to hurt the Cavs defensively when the Warriors go small because he can't switch.

[swagga]

the cavs are actually a bad matchup for the warriors. So are the spurs.
Both teams have big skilled lineups with multiple players that can really hurt the warriors inside through scoring/passing out of the post and/or rebounding. When you look at the lineups both cavs and spurs can put the warriors in some bad situations where they don't have an answer. Ex: do you use bogut against mozgov/love or to keep tristan thompson out the glass? ezeli is a good player but he isn't a playoff caliber contributor.
There is a reason for which the warriors are a low-middle of the pack rated inside defense. Any team that can control the pace and has a scoring big can give the warriors problems: brooklyn and milwaukee are simple examples. There is also a reason for which the warriors lost 2 games to that sorry ass of a cast lebron had last year. These things don't happen by chance you know.

Both cavs and spurs are stacked talent wise, they aren't gimmick teams like the clippers or rockets, and they aren't going all out to get RS wins, but they still have great records. They are excellently built to attack GSW: lots of skilled inside scorers, PGs that will make curry work on the defensive end, lots of depth, exceptional iso scorers, pace control. Tbh many reasonable basketball fans already see this, but you can keep on believing the hype. Imo the warriors are in for a rude awakening .. maybe not in the RS but most certainly in the playoffs.

[HurricaneKid]

I was just going off the OP.

I definitely think the Spurs have a good chance to beat the Warriors. They are playing at one of the slowest paces in the league and will be able to grind out possessions in the half court in the playoffs.

LMA is one of the few players in the league good enough to shoot long 2's effectively...which can really screw up defenses.

The Spurs, if healthy, playing at this level they currently are...would barely even be underdogs to the Warriors in a series. And the ability to play Leonard on Curry in certain key stretches is a huge luxury to have...especially in a slowed down game in which you have a great defender anchoring the paint.

It would be a basketball wet dream to watch those teams play in the playoffs fully healthy.

I know. I just brought up the Spurs because if they take out GSW Cle wouldn't even need to beat them to win a title.

Disagree about the long 2s being an efficient shot. It still isn't. He is a REALLY good mid range shooter to be sure. But he has led the NBA in 2pt FGAs the last three years and shot:

340/854
439/1047
326/767

From 10ft-3 pt line the last three years. Which is WELL below league avg scoring efficiency.

But I would LOVE to watch Danny Green and especially Kawhi come after those guys defensively.

[CavaliersFTW]

So we're assuming curry will remain injury free this year?

[DukeDelonte13]

I do.

Cavs have 3 excellent perimeter defenders in Iman, Lebron, and Delly.

JR is no slouch either on the defensive end.

TT is an excellent defender and Mozzy is starting to get back into form.


Cavs have to do what they did last year. Slow the pace down to a snail's crawl and limit their long shots to prevent fast break opportunities on defensive rebounds. Defend the 3 point line at all costs even if it means giving up easy 2's.


The cavs match up really well against the warriors.