The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a rough start to the 2017-18 campaign. they have a losing record for most of the first portion of the season, until recently winning three straight games, standing at a record of 8-7. Although the Cavaliers’ poor start has not changed many people’s mind about the excellence of the LeBron-led team and their chances at once again making the Finals, some have certainly changed their minds.
Fifteen games is a very small sample size when comparing the best teams in the league. Only a fifth of the full season has been played so far, but there is a certain NBA superstar who already believes that the NBA Finals teams have been chosen.
Steph believes his team will face Boston in June
For the last three years, we have seen the infamous rivalry of the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers at its peak with both teams making the NBA Finals. The Warriors won the championship over the Cavaliers in 2015 and 2017, while the Cavaliers got the better of GSW in 2016. It has made for a very famous rivalry, one that many expect to still go on in the next few years, But apparently, Warriors point guard Stephen Curry doesn’t think so.
After the Warriors 92-88 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, Stephen Curry had high praise for the young and talented Boston Celtics, and when asked about the possibility of them facing off in the 2018 NBA Finals in June, Steph said:
“It’s looking very, very likely right now.”
This is per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle.
But it certainly shows that the Celtics 14-2 start to the season has caught the attention of Steph, and he has high expectations for their success in the Eastern Conference. And while it’s fine for Curry to show respect like this to the C’s, it is also obvious he is throwing a little shade at the Cavaliers, who haven’t had the best start to the season.
LeBron will need to prove them wrong again
LeBron James has been doubted many times in his career. They said he wouldn’t lead his team to the Finals but he did just that at age 22. They said he wouldn’t win a championship but he won two in a row. They said he wouldn’t win a title in Cleveland but he did in it historic fashion.
And after seven straight trips to the NBA Finals, it seems crazy for someone to believe he won’t make it eight, but that’s just what is happening.
The regular season has always been known as the time of the year LeBron relaxes in. Although his statistics are still out of this world, he coasts and decides to turn it up a notch in the playoffs. But the Warriors star point guard doesn’t believe LeBron can get past the Kyrie-led Celtics in the playoffs, and believes his Warriors can come out of the West and will face the Celtics. What I can tell you now is, regular season win streaks don’t result in playoff success. The Warriors won 24 straight and had the best record in NBA history in 2016 but they lost in the Finals.
The Atlanta Hawks won 19 games in a row and had the best record in the East but lost in the East Finals. And ironical as it is, the team that beat those teams in the playoffs was the LeBron James led Cavaliers, a team who was doubted months prior for their regular season mishaps.
