Two Sad Franchises Enter, One Happy Franchise Leaves

As was the case last season, I will likely miss a game (Game 2) due to another trip to Minneapolis. Look for me in the sixteenth row behind home plate of this Saturday afternoon's Brewers @ Twins match-up. Once again, there is no guarantee on how long I'll be visiting my distant Minnesotan relatives but what is a guarantee is that I will make a prediction now and it will be terribly off.

First of all, here's a recap on what happened a full eight days ago when the conference finals seriously disappointed from an entertainment standpoint...

Western Conference Finals Prediction: Warriors in 6.
Reality: Warriors in 5.
What We Learned:
1. The Warriors' team doctors are in big trouble for letting Klay Thompson back into the game after his ear was bleeding. That was a pretty obvious warning flag for a possible concussion which he did end up suffering.
2. The Rockets are a player away (think LaMarcus Aldridge) from coming close to winning four against Golden State.

Eastern Conference Finals Prediction: Cavaliers in 7.
Reality: Cavaliers swept the ATLiens in 4.
What We Learned:
1. The Cavaliers don't need anyone besides Lebron to win the Eastern Conference.
2. Matthew Dellavedova is "gritty".
3. Atlanta is not only boring but, disappointing as always.

Rick Noland - The Chronicle-Telegram
"Delly" is diving for balls and taking names.

#1 Golden State Warriors v. #2 Cleveland Cavaliers
These are the two teams that belong in the Finals and I think that's pretty much what everyone wants from an NBA Finals match-up. The Warriors have gone 79-18 since the beginning of the regular season and Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have yet to all go cold for two consecutive games meaning the Cavaliers have one of the toughest tasks in NBA history in facing Steve Kerr's unbeatable team. Cleveland has killed some easy victims in inexperienced Boston, hindered Atlanta and even the exhausted train-wreck that was Chicago. Despite the easy oppositions, the Cavaliers have seriously impressed much of the population with Lebron James really showcasing his ability to make teammates better (something that Michael Jordan never really did and the one thing he'll always have the edge over MJ in). Dellavedova, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith are great and all but, Golden State has the defensive scheme to take care of any wildcards in David Blatt's lineup. Speaking of David Blatt, I do think he's a very good head coach but, he's not Steve Kerr and this is a match-up of rookie head coaches (for the first time in NBA history) so ANYTHING IS POSSIBAWWWWWWLLLLLLL.

Key Match-up To Watch: Lebron James vs. Draymond Green. Why not Kyrie versus Steph? because Kyrie doesn't play defense when healthy so why the hell would he now? Draymond was nearly the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year and he gets to guard the most complete player in the sport? sign me up! If Draymond plays like he has all season long and gets Lebron to shoot 16% from three or some other ridiculously low percentage, he has a real shot at Finals MVP because there is no way Cleveland recovers from a bad Lebron performance.

My Pick: At the beginning of the season, I chose the Clippers (Thanks Doc!) over the Cavaliers in six or seven. Now, I'm taking Golden State over the Cavaliers in five.

 I didn't even have to use my A.K., I got to say it was a good day.

Good luck to whomever you root for and may the NBA Finals provide excitement despite my dull forecast and may a game seven be in our near future!