NBA Finals

Oh, man, Game Seven was the classic we all hoped it would be. Went down to the wire, some great defensive plays (Lebron's rundown block is now his preeminent career highlight!) though only a modicum of clutch offensive play (Kyrie with the game winner). The game itself went back and forth all the way through, completely unlike the other six games in this series. I kept waiting for the Warriors to get hot but the longer you wait for that to happen, the more you know it isn't coming.

Klay and Curry did not shoot particularly well and still the game went into the last few minutes. Draymond was absolutely brilliant, Iguodala played his best but really no one else played well. Can't figure out why Livingston didn't play more and why on earth was Ezeli out there late in the game? Harrison Barnes was just terrible (for the last three games really) and Speights never really got a chance to do anything. The longer the series went on the more discombobulated the Warriors got. And without Klay and/or Curry piling on points, the Warriors were grinding their wheels all night.

The Cavs got contributions from everyone. Love got every rebund, Kyrie hit the game winner, Tristan plugged the lane with authority, even Shumpert had a big four point play. JR Smith gave them some big buckets early in the 3rd quarter (not sure why the Cavs went away from him, he was Warrior hot for a while there). And Lebron (MVP) was his usual badass self: led all players in points, rebounds, blocks, and everything else--and this was in a seven game series against the greatest single season team of all time! I can't believe Lebron still has haters out there but Twitter assures me it is so. *smh*

But let's keep one thing in mind: the Warriors played awful and the Cavs played flawlessly and it was still close very late in the game. The Warriors struggled with injuries and suspensions, Klay never found the form that he had earlier in the playoffs and Barnes disappeared completely, and they still could've won games Five and Seven. Last year we downgraded the Warriors performance because they faced so many compromised squads, so this year I think its important to remember that they were the compromised squad and still should've won it all. The Cavs played three great games in a row to pull off the improbable but the Warriors still had the best team from beginning of the season to the end (well, til about the last 3-4 minutes anyway). Furthermore, I expect the Warriors to re-load (Batum, Teletovic and Tyler Zeller and they'll win 65 games without much problem). Great series, memorable, congrats to Lebron in particular.

(Through it all I couldn't help thinking of Russell Westbrook sitting on his couch watching the Cavs come back on the Warriors. That guy is already getting in shape for next year, a contract year for him, he wants to start next season TODAY! Right now, he's my pre-pre-pre-season pick for MVP. I expect him to be on a mission to destroy everyone he faces)