Warriors or Cavs? 8 Facts About the NBA Finals
Jun 2, 2015 • Ace Meneses
It’s the final stage of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs and we’re down to the last two teams.
We’ll witness the top-seeded Golden State Warriors, starred by league MVP Steph Curry, go up against two-time champion LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game series.
To get you all hyped up for the NBA finals, here are 8 interesting facts about the series between the Warriors and Cavs:
8. Rest or rust?
Via boxden.com
The 2015 NBA Finals will begin on Thursday (June 4) in the U.S., Friday in Manila. That’s a one-week break between the end of the Conference Finals and the finals, which is the longest layoff in the history of the league. Whether or not this break will be good or bad for both teams we’ll find out come Game 1.
7. Which rookie coach will win?
Via sportsnet.ca
It will be the first time since 1946-47 (the NBA’s first season when the league was still known as BAA) that two rookie coaches will face each other in the championship series. Cavaliers coach David Blatt is one of the most successful coaches in the history of European basketball. Last year, Blatt led Maccabi Tel Aviv, which he steered to a 225-55 record over four years, to a championship. Steve Kerr, on the other hand, is a former NBA player and a five-time champion. In this year’s finals, however, Kerr will be gunning for another title – this time as a coach – when he goes opposite fellow first-year coach Blatt.
6. Following Riley’s footsteps
Via sigmanublog.com
Next to Paul Westhead (who in his rookie year led the Lakers to the 1979-1980 championship), Pat Riley is the most recent rookie coach to win an NBA title in the same season. In the 1982 finals, Riley steered the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship after they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. At the end of the 2015 NBA finals, either Kerr or Blatt will have achieved what Riley did 33 years ago.
5. It’s been a while
Via abcnews.go.com
The last time the Golden State Warriors last made it to the NBA finals was in 1975. During that time, the NBA and ABA hadn’t merged yet, the 3-point shot didn’t exist, Steve Kerr was only nine years old, and no Warriors or Cavs player had been born.
4. What a run
3. Uncharted territory
Via topbet.eu
It’s interesting to point out that nobody on the Warriors’ roster has ever been to the NBA finals. The last team to win the championship without a player with any kind of finals experience was the 1991 Chicago Bulls.
2. That’s why he’s King
Via nba.com
This will be the fifth straight time LeBron James will appear the NBA Finals, alongside fellow Cavs player James Jones. In the past four Finals he played the Spurs, Mavericks, and Thunder. James is the only player to have appeared in five consecutive finals who is not a member of the 1950-60s Boston Celtics.
1. No wonder he’s the MVP
Curry is the first player in league history to have faced every other All-NBA First Team member in one postseason. So far the reigning MVP has beaten Davis’ Pelicans, Gasol’s Grizzlies, and Harden’s Rockets.
If the Warriors defeat James’ Cavaliers, Curry will become the first player in NBA history to achieve such a feat—facing and beating his fellow All-NBA First Team members.
