Cavs Rule Basketball World

The time has finally come. After 52 long years of waiting, the city of Cleveland finally has a championship in town. For the first time in the history of the franchise, the Cavaliers won the NBA Championship, beating the Golden State Warriors in game seven, by a 93-89 final score. This series had been decided in by ten points or more in the first six games, but game seven was a total nailbitter coming down to the wire. Golden State, a team who had won more games than any other team in history, at least during the regular season, also held a 3-1 lead in the finals, only to see it evaporate. It marks the first time ever in finals history that a team has erased a 3-1 deficit to claim the NBA Crown.

LeBron and company had really gotten into the heads of the Warriors during games five and six of this series, with that trend continuing into game seven. Lebron and the boys kept the Splash Brothers quite in this basketball game, as Stephen Curry, who is also the two time reigning and defending league MVP, was held to just 17 points, while Klay Thompson had 14 points. Golden State's best player in this game was Draymond Green, who just so happen to drop 32 points to lead all scorers in this basketball game, on either team. The only quarter in which Golden State controlled the play was in the 2nd, where they outscored the Cavaliers 27-19, and if you combine that with their first quarter totals, Golden State had a 49-42 lead going into halftime. This is a complete changeup from game five, which saw a 61-61 score at halftime. It goes to show just how tight a basketball game this seventh game was.

Golden State managed to be able to stay around in this basketball game, thanks in large part, as mentioned before, to the hot shooting of Draymond Green. He played like a man possessed for the Warriors. He helped keep Golden State in the game, because the Splash Brothers really didn't show up. Sure, both guys produced, but not at the level that Green did and nowhere near the same impact that Green did. Golden State couldn't contain the Cavs at the start of the 2nd half. As a matter of fact, the Warriors shooting went ice cold at the end of the basketball game. Golden State went scoreless over the final 4:39 of the basketball game. Which is what lead to two of the most lasting images of the entire season.

First comes courtesy of LeBron. Golden State was threatening to put the game away, when out of nowhere, this happened:

LeBron comes flying back to make the block on Iguodala. IF that block doesn't happen, the Warriors may be celebrating a title right now to cap off the season that was in California. This play goes to show just how locked in LeBron was to bring the title back to his home state. That block by LeBron would go on and set the stage. Just moments after he makes that huge play, this happens:


Kyrie Irving has never, and may never again, hit a shot any bigger than this one. He finished the night the 2nd leading scorer on the Cavs, behind LeBron, with 26 points. None of them are going to be any bigger than those three points right there. LeBron's block would be the dramatic setup to Kyrie's even more dramatic shot to win the title for the Cavs.

The biggest story to take from this series, from a Cleveland perspective, was how well LeBron played. He dropped a triple double in game seven, with 27 points 11 assists and 11 rebounds, becoming only the 3rd player ever to drop a triple double in a game seven in the finals. The other two guys to do that in the finals are Jerry West in 1969 and James Worthy in 1988. Lets also take another look at the numbers that LeBron put up in the finals. Just in the finals, LeBron had 208 points, 79 rebounds, 62 assists, 18 steals and 16 blocks. All of those numbers lead both teams in the finals, and its the first time ever in the NBA playoffs, in any round, to lead outright or tie for the lead among all players from both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for an entire series. Oh and that performance LeBron had in the entire series, he was voted a unanimous Finals MVP (he also won the award in 2012 and 2013). By winning his third finals MVP, LeBron joins some pretty elite company. He joins Michael Jordan (1997-98, 1996-97, 1995-96, 1992-93, 1991-92, 1990-91), Tim Duncan (2004-05, 2002-03, 1998-99), Magic Johnson (1986-87, 1981-82, 1979-80) and Shaquille O'Neal (2001-02, 2000-01, 1999-00). That's some pretty good company to keep. It wasn't all LeBron though, Kyrie Irving had a big series as well, which is something that the Cavs didn't have last year.

Now lets look at this from a Golden State point a view. Their time had just run out on them. They got lucky to pull off the comeback against Oklahoma City in the West Finals, and had momentum on their side at the start of the NBA finals. But somewhere along the way, I think it was in game five, they lost their mojo. Cleveland really took over the series in game five and Golden State never found their groove again. I said this after game six that the Cavs had gotten into the Warriors heads, and started to beat them up physically. The Splash Brothers  were held in check by some great Cavaliers defense over the last three games of the series. Steph Curry showing his emotion in game six is a perfect example of just how much the Cavaliers had gotten into the Warriors heads and threw them off their games. Golden State will go down in the books as the best regular season team ever, winning 73 games. But that all means nothing when you can't get that elusive ring on the finger. Golden State had a fantastic year no doubt about it, but it wasn't their time come the finals.

Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 2016 NBA Champions!