Your Pick - Ralph
Ralph Perez
Will the warriors win the 2016-17 NBA Finals?
In case you haven't heard, the Warriors blew a 3–1 lead in last year's NBA Finals. LeBron James and Co. shocked the world with a seven-game comeback, triggering a cataclysmic change in the NBA landscape that led to Kevin Durant signing with Golden State this summer.
All caught up? Good. Because after another entertaining regular season, the NBA playoffs are back and the league's powers are out for blood.
Can Golden State avenge last year's championship collapse? Can LeBron James reach his seventh straight Finals and miraculously propel the Cavs to back-to-back titles? Or will a spoiler emerge from either side—hello, Celtics, Raptors, Rockets and Spurs—and deprive NBA fans of the trilogy they've been banking on for months?
It's just too difficult to envision an organization winning 140 combined games over two regular seasons and going home without a championship to show for it. The Warriors should be viewed as overwhelming title favorites given that they just posted the best point differential since the 1996 Bulls despite spending most of the season in fourth gear and weathering an extended stretch without Kevin Durant. They should cruise through the first two rounds, given their regular season dominance over the Blazers and Clippers, before emerging triumphant in a long-awaited showdown with a disciplined and experienced Spurs team that isn't quite talented or versatile enough to pull off the upset. In the East, Cleveland's potent offense should help it easily put down the Pacers and withstand a strong challenge from the Raptors before dispatching a shallow Wizards team in the East finals.
Comments
Post a Comment