NBA Finals Recap: Warriors Take It All!

It took the better part of forty years, and it took many years of mediocrity and suffering to reach this moment, but the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors have reached the pinnacle of the NBA! After defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 in game six to win the series, the Warriors have won their fourth championship in team history, and their first since the 1974-75 season which saw them sweep the Washington Bullets in four games. Going into this series, most experts and pundits, including yours truly, had the Warriors winning this series in either five or six games, and with the Irving injury, most people assumed that Golden State would take care of business. While the better team did prevail in the end, the Cleveland Cavaliers put up a fight that most people would not have expected, especially after the injury to Kyrie Irving, with a majority due to the play of one LeBron James. Let’s take a quick look at how the series played out and what ended up being the difference in the Golden State Warriors taking home the Larry O’Brien trophy.

 For Golden State, one of the biggest difference in their six game victory over the Cavaliers was not the play of regular season MVP Steph Curry, but rather the play of Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. After having not started a singular game during the entire regular season and during a majority of the playoffs, the one known as AI took the place of Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup in game four, which helped Golden State win that game and the next two to take the series. Averaging 16.3 points, 4 assists, and 5.8 rebounds during the series, Iguodala was also tasked with guarding LeBron James during the series, holding him to 38.1% from the floor. Harping on back to game four, being down in the series 2-1 called for a change in the way that Golden State was playing, hence why Iguodala was starting in game four. Having the team play small to start game four ended being a brilliant tactic by rookie head coach Steve Kerr as they were being outplayed for a majority of the first three games. What really became evident during the series was the depth of the Golden State bench in comparison to Cleveland’s, getting some significant contributions from Shaun Livingston and David Lee. Keep in mind that the regular season MVP in Steph Curry did not play at an MVP level for almost four games and that Klay Thompson shot 30% from downtown.

Speaking of Cleveland, it became evident that there was a lack of depth on the bench once Kyrie Irving went down. LeBron James did all that he could do during the series, averaging nearly 36 points a game and scoring more than 30 points in all but one game, while playing around and average of 46 minutes due to the lack of depth on the bench. While there were a few games in which the likes of Matthew Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov played well, it wasn’t enough on a consistent basis to put the Cavaliers over the top. Former Knicks Iman Shumpert and JR Smith weren’t able to step their games up like they were able to at times during the regular season and in various parts of these playoffs.

 What does the future hold for these two teams? Vegas has already predicted that Cleveland will win the championship next year with the assumption that Irving and Love will both be near 100% and that LeBron will keep his game up. It would also be safe to say that Golden State can repeat as champions, with most of their lineup returning while acquiring that playoff experience that will definitely be an asset for them. But for now, let’s sit back and revel in the amazing run that the Golden State Warriors had to the championship for their first title since 1975.

-Article Written By Executive Producer Gregory Delaney