The 2018 NBA Finals was not a competitive series, in fact it was actually a clean sweep. It featured a match up between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. This would be the fourth consecutive meeting between the Cavaliers and the Warriors, and the only time in NBA history that two teams matched up four straight years! The Warriors were coming off a championship the year prior as they beat the Cavaliers in 5 games, and this series was much of the same.
In the previous year when Golden State prevailed Kevin Durant was able to secure his first title as he played lights out basketball. Durant hit the dagger in Game 3 and single-handedly ended that series with a 39 point performance in Cleveland. Durant made sure the Warriors took care of business, pouring in those 39 points on an extremely efficient 14-20 from the field. He finished the series averaging 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists, shooting 55.6 percent from the field, 47.4 on threes and 92.7 from the line. Durant put himself into a league of his own becoming the first player to enter the 50/40/90 club in the NBA Finals! Hate him or love him, he came to play that series and the picture below will forever be a legendary cold-blooded shot.
Flash-forward to 2018 which was much more of the same. Over the course of the four-game series Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and two blocks per game, while shooting 52.6% from the field, and 40% from distance. He would once again secure the Finals MVP trophy and add another title to his resume.
But enough about Durant, 2015-16 was all about the splash brothers. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson paired together with their methodical shooting made guarding them nearly impossible. Stephen Curry redefined the game of basketball showing how deadly the three ball can really be. He was also able to put himself on top of the all time NBA list for playoff three pointers made in far less games than anyone else (and it's not even close). The two years Golden State matched up against Cleveland without adding Durant they both split championships. 2015 went to the Warriors in a tough 6 game series, and no one could forget 2016 where Cleveland was able to climb out of a 3-1 deficit and capture their franchise's first championship.
Now let's get back to the featured matchup in 2018. Below are the starting lineup's for Cleveland and Golden State.
Golden State's Starting Five: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, Klay Thompson.
Cleveland's Starting Five: George Hill, Jeff Green, LeBron James, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith.
At face value the starting lineup's alone speak volumes. The 2018 Golden State Warriors were equipped with three future first ballot hall-of-famers in Durant. Curry, and Thompson (not to mention First-Team All-Defensive player Draymond Green). This may be the most lethal offensive starting 5 the game of basketball has ever seen. The efficiency that Durant, Curry, and Thompson were able to create was unfair. If any one of those three caught fire (which usually happened) there was no chance to stay in a game.
But my question is simple, if you substitute Michael Jordan for LeBron James what would the result be? My answer is very straightforward, it would be the same exact result. Even when LeBron was able to control the tempo of the game to keep the Cavaliers within shooting range it would only take a one to two minute span of the Warriors to reign in three's from all over the court to expand a 2 point lead to an 11 point lead. To hold that offense down was impossible. Would Michael Jordan's tenacity and unwillingness to lose allow the Cavaliers to overcome such an obvious unbalance of talent, or would MJ's performance's go to waste in the same way LeBron's did?
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