For nearly a year, it’s been building. And now, it’s finally arrived.
Round Three. The Rubber Match. The Trilogy.
The best rivalry in sports is back, period.
The block, the shot and the greatest way to end one of the longest title droughts for a city.
All of those moments still sting this Warriors team — who’ve made it clear that they want their revenge on Cleveland.
Draymond Green said back in October that he wanted to annihilate the Cavs “If” they came out of the East. Well Draymond, here’s your chance.
It’s also a chance for Kevin Durant to silence the haters for joining the Warriors — a team that was just a play or two away from repeating a year ago.
What happens if Durant shrinks in the Finals, then what? What will his excuse be for coming up short, LeBron?
Or how about Steph Curry, who was the talk of the NBA last year and seems like has taken a backseat to Durant. How does he respond to Kyrie this year? Will he re-establish himself as an elite player in the league when it matters the most?
I’m absolutely thrilled for the rematch, not only as a Cavs fan, but for the game itself. There is real destain between these two teams and I LOVE it.
Every player is healthy and both teams are at the peak of their game, so there will be no excuses. Absolutely none.
But what intrigues me the most of all, is LeBron himself. All the talk surrounding his historic playoff run only continues the debates between himself and Michael Jordan.
That’s why the microscope will be fully intensified on him to see if he can deliver.
This 2017 NBA Finals is All About One Man: LeBron James
The 2017 NBA Finals it’s a chance for LeBron James to claim his thrown as the greatest player of all time.
Yeah, you heard me. Greatest. Player. Of. All. Time.
IF, he hasn’t done it already.
A fourth ring, one which would come against arguably one of the greatest teams of all time, would cement his legacy as the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball.
Why?
As James as said, he’s accomplished everything in the league that he’s set out to do.
3-time NBA Champion and Finals MVP.
4-time regular season MVP.
A seventh consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, to put that one in perspective, no one has done it more than four times.
He’s arguably playing the best basketball of his remarkable 14-year NBA career, averaging a line of 33-8-7 this postseason, shooting 57% from the field, including 42% from three.
Durability and an endless motor have allowed James to chase that ghost in Chicago.
So what’s left for James to conquer?
The super team who called James soft, a baby and that he had his feelings hurt.
A super team who added Kevin Durant, a top-five player in the league, while keeping the core of the 73-9 team from a year ago.
James’ fourth ring, if it were to come against this team, would be his greatest accomplishment and the one that sets him apart from the rest, forever.
All of the Lebron haters would be forced to inevitably throw out his mediocre finals record and let it sink in that at age 32, in his 14th season, playing at the level that he is, will have one of the most incredible playoff runs of all time.
If the Cavs do indeed repeat as the champions, the debates and discussions will only further intensify that James has, if not already surpassed Jordan as the greatest ever.