It's time for Round 2 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this highly-anticipated rematch, will Stephen Curry and the NBA's golden boys complete their record-setting regular season with a second consecutive championship, or will LeBron James and Cleveland's red-hot big three exact their revenge after falling short last year?
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
(Cavaliers win series 4-3)
Game 1 — Warriors 104, Cavaliers 89
Game 2 — Warriors 110, Cavaliers 77
Game 3 — Cavaliers 120-Warriors 90
Game 4 — Warriors 108, Cavaliers 97
Game 5 — Cavaliers 112, Warriors 97
Game 6 — Cavaliers 115, Warriors 101
Game 7 — Cavaliers 93, Warriors 89
Season series — Warriors won 2-0
Golden State's starting lineup (2016 playoff stats) — Stephen Curry (26.7 ppg, 6.1 apg), Klay Thompson (26.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg), Andre Iguodala (8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Draymond Green (15.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg), Andrew Bogut (5.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
Cleveland's starting lineup (2016 playoff stats) — Kyrie Irving (24.3 ppg, 5.1 apg), J.R. Smith (12.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg), LeBron James (24.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg), Kevin Love (17.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg), Tristan Thompson (4.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg)
Golden State wins if — Put simply, Curry, Thompson and Green play like themselves. While these Finals will surely come down to much more than the Warriors' big three, the team's quest for back-to-back NBA titles lies within its core, and the All-NBA players can't miss a beat against this hungry Cavaliers team. Curry and Thompson must continue to validate their Splash Brothers status, while Green — who struggled mightily in Games 3 and 4 against the Thunder — will need to regulate his intensity levels while keeping his sights set firmly on the task at hand.
Cleveland wins if — Their big three outplays Golden State's. While James has been in top-form so far this postseason, the four-time MVP needs to continue to be just that on the NBA's biggest stage. Cleveland is thrilled to have Love and Irving back after last year's injury-riddled postseason, but they're stepping into a whole new world in the Finals. Irving has played well this postseason (other than his 3-of-19 outing in Game 3 vs. Toronto), but — taking nothing away from his point guard opponents from the first three rounds — he's now faced with the daunting task of trying to contain the back-to-back MVP. As for love, it wasn't a mere coincidence that he struggled mightily in the Cavs' only two losses of the playoffs thus far.
Need to know (Golden State) — The Warriors became just the 10th team (of 233) in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit with their Western Conference finals win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Need to know (Cleveland) — This is James' sixth consecutive NBA Finals appearance and his third overall in Cleveland.
Sam Amick's pick — Warriors in 7
Jeff Zillgitt's pick — Warriors in 7
