NBA: Should the Warriors be worried about the Cavaliers?
Over the past two weeks, LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers have been on an onslaught. Once the week closes and the dust settles, the Cavs should be on an 11-game win streak, as no one expects the Memphis Grizzlies to defeat them.
King James has been playing phenomenal basketball. In fact, some say he's having the best season of his career. With Kyle Korver shooting well from the perimeter and Kevin Love playing well in the post, they are already a formidable team.
With the mighty Isaiah Thomas poised to return, the team are all but ready for the Christmas matchup against Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors.
The story for Golden State
While everyone thinks that the Warriors have the Western Conference locked up, James Harden and the Houston Rockets are steamrolling right now with a 17-4 record.
Harden has been absolutely mind-blowing and is leading the league in not just points per game with 31.5 but in assists per game with 9.8! So in addition to scoring, he is also playing the role of a point guard and getting open looks for Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson. Then, of course, there is Chris Paul and the magic that he brings to the court every single night.
The Warriors themselves are having quite a season, as expected, with Stephen Curry dropping 26.1 points per game and Durant adding 24.9 of his own with Klay Thompson adding another 20.2.
The "Big Three" for the Warriors are all shooting well and the rookie Jordan Bell has added a lot of flavor to both their offense and defense. The firepower is there from the bench also, as Nick Young and Omri Casspi are dropping buckets aplenty.
Their bane, however, has been the number of turnovers per game, which Steve Kerr has talked about on multiple occasions in post-game conferences.
NBA Playoff predictions
Some might say that LeBron James's nemesis will be the Boston Celtics led by none other than his (once) brother in arms, Kyrie Irving, who by the way has been an absolute monster on the court, averaging 23.4 points per game.
But no matter what the standings say right now, with Thomas back for Cleveland sometime in the future, likely around the playoffs, and Gordon Hayward out almost certainly for the season for the Celtics, the Cavs will sail through the Eastern Conference once again.
The Warriors will end up coming out of the Western Conference to meet the Cavs for the fourth straight year in the NBA Finals. I have the former winning four games to two in the conference finals against the Rockets.
But it really all depends on two things. Can the Warriors stay healthy until the NBA Finals given how Kerr is resting his players, and can Thomas come back in time to get his feet set and be the king of the fourth quarter again?
NBA Finals predictions
Come June, we will see a repeat of the 2015, 2016 and 2017 NBA Finals, and it will come down to wire, unlike last year when the Cavs got destroyed four games to one. But Steve Kerr and his boys are still the favorites to win the title.
LeBron is just one man. But if Thomas can come back healthy, as hip injuries are no joke, and both Korver and Love can keep it up, we will have an absolute thriller on our hands. I'm taking the Warriors in six.
The season is still in the early stages and lots of factors come into play as the playoffs inch closer, but for now I just want to sit back on Christmas day, enjoy my eggnog and watch two of the best teams in the NBA shoot some hoops.
Happy Holidays, folks!