With both the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers seven games into the 2017-2018 season, an analysis of both squads and what’s to be expected come playoff time, was much needed as most NBA fans can attest to the fact that the Finals will long be dominated by the Dubs and Cavs until a new team proves themselves as strong contenders against the two “super-teams.”
As of Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, the Warriors are 4-3 and the Cavs are 3-4 in the regular season. Prior to the first game of this season, the Boston Celtics were argued to be one of the strongest competitors to be able to hold their own and break the ongoing Warriors vs. Cavs Finals streak. However, after the loss of one of their All-Stars, Gordon Hayward, their probability plummeted. They do still, nonetheless, have one of the most talked about offseason pickups – Kyrie Irving, who could aid in increasing their chances of a playoff victory over Cleveland.
All of this aside, the Christmas game between Golden State and Cleveland is much anticipated, like always. As we are still early into the season, it will be an interesting dynamic to observe between the two with Irving now gone and Dwayne Wade now a part of the Cavs. So far, the transition has not been too problematic for them.
LeBron James, unsurprisingly, leads the team in four categories – points (27.3), assists (8.0), steals (1.3) and blocks (1.0), with Kevin Love leading in rebounds (11.0). Steph Curry leads GSW in both points (29.0) and steals (1.3), Kevin Durant leads in both rebounds (8.5) and blocks (3.8) while Draymond Green leads in assists (9.0). Overall, the Warriors average more in every category than the Cavs… but not by much – so we will have to wait and see how the team highs pan out leading up to the annual holiday rivalry game.
So how is this season different from previous ones? First off, all teams are better rested between games with the new implementation from the NBA to include more off-days into the overall schedule, which means all players will go into games with more power.
The Cavs’ three key reserves (J.R. Smith, Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder) averagely score significantly higher than the Warriors’ key reserves (Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Patrick McCaw), outscoring them by 11.5 points. Having a strong sixth man and an overall deep bench is a game-changer, really across any sport, but especially in basketball with the high frequency of substitutions and rest time during games.
Opposing sides of both teams can respect the other in many aspects, but the tenacious rivalry between the Warriors and Cavs will live on. Come the Christmas game, fans may have a better look into what the back end of the season will look like in terms of record and a strong comparison of depth of power seen in both teams.
