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Last time they met in the Finals: Warriors vs. Cavaliers

By Dante Nelson

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What happened the last time the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers faced each other in the NBA Finals?

For all of the posts I did in this series, I started with the same intro, basically. I’m not going to do that this time.

We all know what happened last time. You’re not allowed to forget this story. But, this post is supposed to talk about what happened, so let’s get to it.

The top seed Golden State Warriors are going to face the 2nd seeded Cleveland Cavaliers for the third straight time in the NBA Finals. This has somehow never happened before in NBA history (I’m looking at you, Celtics and Lakers).

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In the 2016 NBA Finals, the NBA regular season record smashing Warriors took on a healthy Cavaliers team who looked like true underdogs in the series.

Part one: Draymond Green kicks himself out of a finals game.

So, the Dubs and Cavs were in Game 4 of the series. There was an altercation between LeBron James and Green. In the end, Green…ah…made a…move towards LeBron’s…er, between the legs.

Because of Green’s string of technical and flagrant fouls, this particular incident resulted in him being suspended for Game 5 of the series.

Part two: Andrew Bogut’s injury.

A lot of attention went to Green’s suspension as the leading factor for the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead sensation that swept the nation. That sentence rhymed so hard. Anyway, I always felt that Bogut going down did more damage to the Warriors’ chances. Bogut’s injury opened up the paint for LeBron and others to simply feast. This injury happened in Game 5.

Part three: LeBron smells blood.

Look, because of the first two parts LeBron could sense a chance. Who wouldn’t? But, LeBron is one of those very few players who can put a team on his back and just do it all. The Warriors were reeling from what was really a disastrous 4th game. Maybe they counted on the Cavs giving up being down 1-3. But, I think LeBron got in some heads and amazingly intimidated the Warriors while willing the Cavs out of a hole that had never been dug out of before in finals history.

It’s 100% certain, in my opinion, if Green and/or Bogut didn’t miss Game 5, the series would’ve been over. The series was the result of a perfect storm that turned into one of the greatest sports stories of 2016 and perhaps all time.

LeBron’s block on Andre Iguodala is a solid representation of how LeBron played from Game 4 onward. Simply a beast.

Some people will look at this rematch with distain. I feel like this: If my 76ers had the chance, I’d like to see them do a 50’s Celtics and just be in the finals year after year. I think most fans want their team winning game after game after game. So, good for the Cavs and Dubs.

My issue, and I know many of you can relate, was that this matchup was easy to see from last July. And nothing during the months between then and now put that in doubt. We do like drama, even if we know the end result.

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Here’s hoping this NBA Finals is awesome. Will it be better than last year? In some ways, perhaps. In other ways, not a chance.

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