Pelayo: A different Dubs nation

THERE was still plenty of minutes left in the regulation during the second game in the NBA Finals this year but it seemed like LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers felt exhausted on the bench taking deep breaths on the side line.

On the first two games of this best of seven series, James has shown aggressiveness during the first half. His dominance on the floor cannot be denied. He had just tied Magic Johnson’s record for the most triple-double in the Finals which is 8. In spite of all these individual achievements, his efforts were still futile.

The defending champs have made adjustments in their roster during the early and middle part of the season. The Cavs acquired sharp shooter Kyle Korver, veteran guard Deron Williams, and even former GSW Center Andrew Bogut for about 53 seconds before being side-lined for the rest of the season for another injury. Cleveland exhibited close to perfect conference playoff games as they swept their opponents in the early rounds before losing only one game against the Boston Celtics.

Also, the alibi that LeBron James does not have a supporting cast cannot be used anymore in this series. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are both playing well alongside number 23. And so, how come they still lose to the Warriors in the first 2 games with large margin? Let’s try to analyze the Golden State team.

The team’s two-time MVP Stephen Curry who historically had low stats in the Finals has shown MVP mode in the first 2 games of the 2017 Finals. He can now move freely and do his thing because of this one guy the team has now, and that man is Kevin Durant, the big difference this season. KD has shown his dominance in the early part of the Finals that the Cavs on the other hand cannot seem to find a solution on how to stop this 7-foot monster. In game 1, Cleveland assigned James to guard KD which was obviously a bad idea because LBJ got exhausted trying to stop the former MVP while he also has to get to score on the other end of the floor.

During the first matchup between GSW and Cavs in 2015, James’ team was shorthanded because of injuries of some key players. In 2016, Cleveland got their revenge when Kyrie drained that tough three-pointer in game 7 on the Oracle Arena. This year, the Dubs nation has KD35, and he’s been very effective for Golden State. He can shoot from way beyond the arc with hand on his face and still drain it. And he makes plays that make fans mesmerized by his athleticism. If he gets double teamed, he has the option to feed two of the best shooters in the game today, Steph and Klay. The strong presence of Draymond Green is still felt on the defensive side. Andre Iguodala, David West and Shaun Livingston have shown consistency as supporting cast. The underrated JaVale McGee has also been phenomenal this season.

The bench also seemed to have acquired the pace and confidence of the starters. Steve Kerr and Mike Brown may have created a blueprint for this team to find a way to win it all. They do have strength in numbers, and number 35 is a big factor for this early success of the Golden State Warriors.

If the Cavs cannot contain Durant in the coming crucial games, then KD might get his first ring in The City.

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