My followers, I am glad to finally announce that the Cleveland Cavaliers are the 2015-2016 NBA champions! It was a pivotal game seven, coming down to the wire. With two minutes left, LeBron James came out of, once again, no mans land looking like he had run from Miami to Cleveland, to chase down Igoudala and block his lay up. Then with about a minute and four seconds left, Kyrie Irving hit a step-back fade away, clutch three to give them a three point lead. With about 24 seconds left, Kyrie drove down the lane, flipped a pass to LeBron right behind him, LeBron got fouled, made 1 out of 2 free throws, and that completely sealed the deal, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a 93-89 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
The streets out side Quicken Loans Arena went crazy, I went crazy, LeBron fell to the floor with joyful tears he could not contain, and Kyrie got a playful tackle from his dad as both went laughing to the ground. Lebron's promise to win the Championship had been fulfilled. The burden of the 52-years with out a championship had been lifted off their backs. Truly, truly, the best two words in sports history is: GAME SEVEN!!!
It is truly amazing, but after it all, its time to break it down.
Cleveland's aggressiveness was huge from the start averaging 27 points per first quarter and finishing strong averaging 22.7 points per fourth quarter in this finale series. Cleveland's scoring kept taking tolls and in this series they were barely able to keep there points above 100, averaging just 100.4 points per game. They also took drops in the assist column and the rebounding column averaging 19.1 assists and 36.4 rebounds in the finals. So how did the Cleveland Cavaliers win the Title? Kyrie and LeBron. It was just the right series for them, not only because there were playing under pressure, but also the two teammates created their own highlight reals. Kyrie Irving has played great all series long having several 30 point games and even adding a 41 point game in the 2016 playoffs. He also averaged 25.2 points per game, 3 boards per game, and 4.7 assists per game. And what about LeBron James you may wonder. . . well. . . will get to that later.
From the Warriors side, it's anything but happy. The basket didn’t seem as big as it had been all season long. The shots didn’t fall, the defense was stretched thin, and the towels hung over their faces as they lost not only the title, but also lost history. The two time MVP, Stephen Curry was played very tightly, getting into foul trouble, getting bumped on every cut or route to get opened, and lastly there was just great defense on him. There was one player who was as cold as ice, Harrison Barnes. He couldn't get his stroke going and was shooting well under 50%. If I'm coach Steve Kerr, I need to take him out of the starting line-up. I also felt like Steve Kerr was missing opportunities to make some of his bench players shine. For example when there was three minutes left in the fourth quarter and they were down by thirty, or twenty, maybe even fifteen points, then the bench got on a run. I thought James Macalo really shined for the Warriors, but Steve Kerr didn't increase his minutes the slightest bit. And the keys to success given to them in the regular season were lost in the playoffs, but with Kevin Durant now on the Warriors side who knows what will happen next year.
The playoff's Highlight Player is. . . the king of the city LEBRON JAMES!!! He accomplished everything he needed to, carried his team to win the finals, and most deservingly, won the Finals MVP. LeBron averaged 26.3 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game and 7.6 assists this playoffs, including two back-to-back 41 point games in the finals. The Warriors cloud not find a way to slow the king and his army down.
Well I certainly hope you enjoyed the finals, I hope you will enjoy the Summer league, have a great offseason, and all be next season with plenty more.
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