This headline probably made you roll your eyes. Few think the Cavaliers have a prayer in the 2018 NBA Finals.
Vegas certainly doesn’t. Sportsbooks give the Cavs only a 13 percent chance to win it all.
The Cavs winning this year’s Larry O’Brien Trophy appears unthinkable—it seems every analyst is calling Warriors in five—but sports have a way of making the unthinkable happen.
Oscar Wilde once said that “everything popular is wrong.” Below are eight reasons the common sentiment that the Warriors will steamroll the Cavs is just that—wrong.
1. Cleveland has the best player alive—and he really wants this one.
2. Cleveland is due to break out of its shooting slump.
3. Andre Iguodala is hurt.
Iguodala will miss Game 1 and perhaps more. This point might seem like a stretch—Iguodala is, after all, Golden State’s fifth-best player—but the veteran’s importance should not be downplayed.
Iggy is by far the Warriors’ best defender against LeBron. Iguodala won Finals MVP in 2015 largely because he “held” LeBron to 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game.
I’m not ready to hand the Larry O’Brien to the Warriors right away if they don’t have a healthy Andre Iguodala to guard LeBron
— J.A. Adande (@jadande) May 29, 2018
Iguodala’s ability to match up with LeBron is a big reason the Warriors gave him a three-year, $48 million deal last summer—they knew guys with the size, strength, and athleticism to decently match up with LeBron are few and far between. In his stead, Golden State will likely resort to inexperienced defenders—Jordan Bell and Kevon Looney. That’s a lot to ask of those young players.