We have Kyrie Irving on the national stage. Kevin Love, well sort of. We got the other splash bro, Klay Thompson. A favorite of mine, Andre Iguodala. We'll get a little Draymon Green. A little Austrailian flair in Andrew Bogut and (ugh) Matthew Dellavedova.
So let's see Steph vs Kyrie. One's the MVP, and one's battling injuries. Kyrie is a top 5 point guard. That's something I wasn't saying as recently as February. Almost a week off may help at first but he is too hurt to even try and even out with Steph.
Advantage: Warriors.
Klay vs Shump (possibly J.R. Smith)
Klay is the the 2 in the Steph & Klay 1,2 punch. He's coming off a concussion and might not be 100% tonight. It's impossible to say how a guy will react coming over a concussion. I'm also not sure if this is Klay's first concussion ever. I think we will know within the first quarter how much he's recovered. Shump has been streaky in the playoff and role players tend to be better at home. Shump/ J.R. will have an impact when the series goes back to Cleveland but I think Golden State has the advantage to start the series. (It's called home court advantage for a reason.
Advantage: Warriors
Harrison Barnes vs LeBron
Not gonna waste my time with this one.
Advantage: Cavs
Draymon vs Tristan
Both very different types of players. Draymon can create from the four spot despite being under-sized. Tristan is a rebounding machine, especially on the offensive end. There's a constant discussion around NBA circles about whether or not you'd sign Draymon Green to a max caliber deal this off-season. My answer is yes. That is yes if you're the Warriors. He fits incredibly well with the Warriors on both end of the floor. I honestly think he should've gotten Defensive Player of the Year over Kawhi Leonard. Tristan has came into his own this year. He's a glass eater and great with put backs near the rim. I think each will have some nice games. If Draymon can do what he's been doing all year the Warriors will be that much better off because of it. If Tristan can do what he's been doing as well it gives the Cavs an edge they might not normally have.
Advantage: Even
Bogut vs Mozgov
Bogut hasn't quite been the player he was billed to be after being the #1 pick in the draft about a decade a go. When he's out the Warriors have no rim protection. When he's in their rim protection is top 5 in the league. Mozgov is the same kind of guy, but with better touch and a more polished offensive game. These two are even on defense but Mozgov's potential offensive gives him a slight advantage.
Advantage: Cavs
Warriors Bench vs Cavs bench
The Warriors have guys like Iggy, Shaun Livingston, David Lee (who's the highest paid player), and Leandro Barbosa. The Cavs have whoever doesn't start between Shump and J.R., Delly, Mike Miller, James Jones, and Kendrick Perkins.
I like Iggy but his offense is fairly limited and he will make an impact on defense. (ditto for Delly) Livingston is a tall guard who will post the guard up when he can. David Lee may play a little but not much and won't have an impact unless he plays if guys get into foul trouble. Unless Barbosa turns back the clock to his Suns days he won't make much of an impact either.
I think what Mike Miller did a few seasons ago isn't going to happen again. Delly's best game already happened. James Jones might come in and make a few three's. Kendrick Perkins is basically just a live body. If someone who's not Shump/ J.R has the best scoring output of a bench guy I would be very surprised.
Advantage: Cavs
Steve Kerr vs David Blatt
Two rookie coaches in the NBA. Blatt has more coaching experience since he had coached overseas along with the Russian Olympic team in 2012. Kerr has more NBA experience however. He was an executive with the Suns during the Steve Nash era and helped to build that roster. So I am going to look at what I know. Steve Kerr helped transform Steph into an MVP. LeBron has some MVPs with guys that are lesser coaches to me than David Blatt. I think he's better then Erik Spoelstra which in retrospect might not be quite the coach I think LeBron helped him appear to me. I was wrong about that even if the Heat were destroyed by injuries this year. So I think that as a straight coach Blatt is better but Kerr knows the NBA far more.
Advantage: Warriors
Warriors: Steph, Klay, Draymon (even), and Kerr.
Cavs: LeBron, Tristan (even) Mozgov, and the bench.
My pick: Warriors in 5.
Last season I went the Heat simply because I thought LeBron could win basically by himself. I am not going to make that mistake again.
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