So we've finally reached Game 7 of the 2015-16 NBA Finals. The two opposing teams, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, have fought through the pressures of the regular season, coaching changes, media distractions, critical injuries, and the competition of themselves. Truthfully, I predicted that the series would have the outcome of seven games and it was not to discredit either team. Actually, I have given each team their due respect. If Cleveland would have swept the Warriors, as they had done during the first two series of the playoffs, I would have been thoroughly skeptical of the Warriors' 73-9 season record (by the way, they have best regular season record in the history of the NBA). Had the Warriors swept the Cavaliers, I would have definitely had to add them in the conversation of possible top-10 teams in the history of the game.

With that being said, I've watched the playoffs and I have come up with 3 key situations that had to happen for either team to win it all on Sunday.

Turnovers

Turnovers have hurt the Warriors the entire season, but not more than they have this entire series. They are averaging right around 2.0 more turnovers than the Cavaliers, and if they had any chance of capturing their back-to-back title, they had to clean up that statistic.

On the other hand, Cleveland has clamped down on defense the past two games and have done a good job of controlling their own turnovers. While I'm sure they would like to get their turnover percentage a little lower, they recovered enough today to hoist up the trophy at the end of the game.

Bench Play

In order for either team to come out with the victory, I believe that not only will they have to monitor their turnovers (as if that's not obvious) but also, their bench points and defense will be crucial. So far, the Warriors' bench has had an edge over Cleveland's bench, in terms of scoring and creating possible match-up issues around the floor. For Golden State, the play of Livingston and Barbosa has definitely helped early in the series, although Livingston has sort of flattened out the past two games. Barbosa has shown up more, in terms of scoring, and he needed to have critical offense and defensive stops to help the team win the game. Cleveland's bench simply needed to keep up with Golden State's bench because their Big Three would take care of the rest.

Star Power and Will To Fight

At the end of the day, it took major play from these 6 stars (of course along with their team) for the outcome to go in their favor. Golden State's Big 3 (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green) HAD to earn critical points, but more importantly, play critical defense against the Cavs. Unfortunately, Curry and Thompson didn't show up as well as they should have. Cleveland's arguably NEW Big 3 (LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Tristan Thompson) HAD to have games like games five and six to defeat the defending NBA Champions. That is EXACTLY what they did, as LBJ and Kyrie combined for 53 points, with both players nailing the dagger in the final 20 seconds of the game.

Both teams had to prove that they deserved to be called the NBA's BEST, not only because they won the trophy but also because no matter what who wins, both teams would have beaten one of the best teams in the history of the game. Cleveland has, arguably, had one of the best squads that they have ever had with this year's group. Golden State has done the unthinkable by breaking the regulars season win record.

It was an exciting game and although I rooted for a good game, I will disclose my prediction to you, as I had been saying since Cleveland's second sweep of the playoffs. I had Golden State winning in overtime in game seven by no more than five points. Outstanding plays on defense and the assist percentages helped the victor to victory. If you have any comments, or would like to add your opinion, feel free to do so, RESPECTFULLY. Thank you and congratulations to the 2015-16 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers!