The most watched and followed NBA finals in league history has taken a turn in the Western direction after Golden State's 104-91 win over the Cavaliers in Game Five. For Game Six we head back to Cleveland for either a celebration of Golden State's new championship title or for Cleveland to tie the series yet again and force a Game Seven. LeBron James has kept his team afloat while maintaining nearly 40 points a game (except for Game Four when he slammed his head into a camera lens and checked out, only scoring 20 points.) He has definitely done his job covering for his fellow stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, who’ve been out for the series due to injuries. Can LeBron and the Cavaliers hold off Golden State in Game Six, or is it time to crown a new champion?
Golden State has had an exceptional year as well as a huge team effort in the Finals. With the whole team healthy, the Splash Brothers as the lead scorers in every game this series, and remarkable help from fellow starters Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, the Warriors are quite the dream team. Veteran Iguodola exploded in Game Four with 22 points and eight rebounds, and I expect to see nothing less in Game Six. Although a celebration at home is always more inviting, a championship title rewarded on the road is still a championship title.
The Cavaliers' Matthew Dellavedova’s performance in Game Three was one for the books. With the Cavs winning the game, 96-91, Dellavedova was one to look out for for Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, or so we thought (Cavs fans are still trying to figure out where Dellavedova even came from and how to spell his last name). His Game Four and Five performances were not as strong, but definitely is needed in order to come out with a Game Six win. Tristan Thompson has been quite the asset to the Cavaliers' charisma through this series as well as one of the top rebounders for the Cavs while maintaining 10-plus points a game. Without a doubt the Cavaliers will need these two players heads in the game to hold back Golden State in Game Six.
Predictions for Game Six aren’t entirely clear on my end. This series has been one to watch and definitely kept all NBA fans on their toes. I’d like to suspect the majority of us thought that the Warriors wouldn’t have much trouble running through the Cavaliers after Kyrie Irving went down with a knee injury. However, the Cavaliers bench and other starters truly stepped up to the plate and are not going down without a fight. This has been one of the most unexpected and exciting NBA Finals series to date.
Catch Game Six on ABC on Tuesday, June 16 at 8 p.m. EST. Who will win? The healthy and on-point Warriors or the Cavaliers with the incredible LeBron James?
