NBA, NHL finals will feature defending champions

They have earned a rubber match with the Warriors, setting up one of the most anticipated NBA Finals in recent memory. “We obviously see the team to get past is Cleveland, and right now we’re not there”.

An impressive season for the Boston Celtics came to a predictable end at the hands of the dominant Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden on Thursday night.

The Cavaliers and Warriors split their two meetings this season, both winning at home. Jaylen Brown was arguably one of the most consistent Celtics over the entire series, shooting 58.6 percent from the field while almost averaging double-digit (9.0) points per game. The Warriors are the better team and should be favored, but this is a lot of points to give a Cavs team that will have the best player in the series and is one of maybe two teams that can shoot with Golden State.

What’s changed from a year ago? “That was my mindset when I started playing the game”.

However, awaiting them in the Finals is a rested Golden State Warriors squad that didn’t lose a single game in the first three rounds.

NBA fans have been waiting 11th months for the third installment of Golden State and Cleveland in the Finals, and we should be treated to some excellent basketball. LeBron James and his sidekicks against a different version of the superteam from the bay area. It would make for great theater – or would it?

These teams that have spent much of the post-merger days near the bottom of the standings were the cream of the crop in the 1950s led by star quarterback Graham and innovative coach Paul Brown in Cleveland and Lions Hall of Fame passer Layne and running back Doak Walker. The Thunder lost to Miami in five games, a series that made James a champion for the first time.

An unprecedented Finals trilogy was finally set, and still, James had no interest or energy to engage the topic. Who are the most likely “X” factors? It’s possible Golden State tuned into the Eastern Conference matchups hoping to see the Cavaliers again. Sometimes it gets easy to neglect that fact. Among the active players near the top, Tony Parker (4,012) is ninth, Dwyane Wade (3,871) 11th, Dirk Nowitzki (3,663) 15th and Kevin Durant (2,872) 28th.

The Warriors are in fine form themselves and boast a 12-0 record in these playoffs, but if the Cavs’ dominance of Boston is anything to go by, they ought to be wary.

“I never thought I could get to a point where Mike was”.

Game 7: Cleveland at Golden State* When: Sunday, June 18 – 8 p.m. Golden State enters this Finals matchup with a flawless 12-0 record with only two of those victories coming down to single digits. And while James now leads in the playoff point totals, he still lags Jordan’s regular-season point total. Now is the time to harness that pain and get ready to take the next step and join National Basketball Association history as the next team to overcome their rival on the way to the top. Jordan reached his mark in 179 games, averaging 33.4 points in the process.

With KD in the fold, the Warriors have cruised through the postseason.

He finished the game with 35 points, booking his seventh straight finals appearance as the reigning champion Cavs wrapped up a 4-1 victory over the Celtics in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals. They’ve allowed just 94.4 points per 100 possessions with Draymond Green on the floor and 111.9 with Green on the bench. More bad news was revealed after the game. Thompson had the best plus-minus (plus-40) in the series.

Avery Bradley one game. If they’re going to struggle with transition D now, that will be a problem. Game 1 is next Thursday, and the tension between two giants that have spent most of the past three years eyeing each other will be released.