The Finals are done! So many emotions and thoughts. Here are ten of my random thoughts.
1. This is the biggest upset in NBA Finals History.
Using the Simple Rating System, which adjusts for strength of schedule and the average margin of victory, this is the biggest upset in modern NBA history. The difference in SRS between the Cavs and the Warriors was -4.93! For reference, when the Rockets defeated the Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals, the difference was -4.12. For fun, here are the top five upsets in NBA history.
| Season | Champ | Runner-Up | SRS Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Golden State Warriors | -4.93 |
| 1995 | Houston Rockets | Orlando Magic | -4.12 |
| 2013 | Miami Heat | San Antonio Spurs | -3.85 |
| 2006 | Miami Heat | Dallas Mavericks | -2.37 |
| 2011 | Dallas Mavericks | Miami Heat | -2.35 |
What's even more ridiculous is that both teams were their conferences respective number one seed!
2. An amazing game 7
There hasn't been a game seven loss with home court advantage since the 70s! Let that sink in, the last time in NBA history we saw a home team lose game 7 of the NBA Finals:
- The Sonics were still an NBA franchise
- The NBA didn't have a three-point line
- The NBA had 22 teams
3. LeBron James - All Five Categories
LeBron James lead all players on both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. That's just absurd. And even when we factor in shooting efficiency, he was still the points leader. That's just silly. He also finished with 1.72 Wins at 0.282 Wins per 48 for the season. Easily the best player and the obvious Finals MVP. Speaking of which...
4. Kevin Love Showed Up in the Nick of Time
Who was the best Cavalier in game 7 of the NBA Finals? (Editor's Note: Originally this said the best player. That was, of course, Draymond Green. Sorry for the mix-up!) Now, with such close margins it's hard to say, but according to Wins Produced, it was Kevin Love! With 14 rebounds (in a game the Cavs outrebounded the Warriors by 9) Tack on three assists and two steals and that output more than made up for his subpar shooting (to be fair, almost no one was shooting well in game 7) Make no mistake, Kevin Love had a horrendous NBA Finals. Even after that clutch performance, his net performance cost the Cavs wins. But I'm glad the narrative of Kevin Love this Finals doesn't end with people convinced he's better on the bench. On that note.
5. Injuries Matter!
Kevin Love hasn't played well in the Finals. His three-point shot has abandoned him. Of course, he missed a game with a concussion, and we shouldn't pretend that concussions just magically get better after one game. Steph Curry, the unanimous MVP, hasn't looked great most of the playoffs and given that's he's had to miss games multiple times this postseason with injury, it's not a hard mystery as to why. Now, the playoffs always have injuries happen; it's part of sports. I just wish people wouldn't use an injured players performance over seven games as proof of how good or bad they are.
6. Enough with Smallball
The Warriors lost Andrew Bogut. They were forced to play small. The Cavaliers stuck with Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and LeBron James. Now, small ball "works" when you have a core of "small" players that are all great. That said, the Warriors went small out of necessity, and it didn't make Tristan Thompson suck. I'm hoping the Warriors take note and target some better bigs than Varejao or Festus in the offseason (or they can just get Kevin Durant and solve everything)
7. Draymond Green!
The best heel in the NBA Playoffs was Draymond Green. And he almost kept the Warriors in it when the rest of the team played like garbage. I just want to note that my Twitter feed was brutal to Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, who were both picked in front of Draymond Green, who was selected in the second round. I'm glad he's gotten most of the credit he's due this season and hope that it convinced the Warriors that ...
8. Lightyears?
The Warriors made one of the best teams in NBA history. And a lot of it had to do with Steph Curry, a player the current management didn't draft, turning into an amazing phenom. A lot of it had to do with Draymond Green, a player they picked with a random second round pick they got through salary dumps, turning into the most versatile forward in the NBA outside of LeBron James. A lot of it had to do with Andrew Bogut, an injury prone player, staying healthy. A lot of it had to do with Andre Iguodala, a player they weren't targeting, forcing his way onto the team.
That's not to say the Warriors have been a poorly run front office. Quite the contrary. However, I hope that instead of buying the hype that most of their success is due to them being "light years ahead of the rest of the league" that they accept a lot of it was serendipity and lose some hubris and buckle down this offseason.
9. Tristan Thompson
Remember when everyone thought his contract was too high? Remember when everyone thought it was stupid of the Cavs to waste money on him this offseason?
10. Richard Jefferson
Holy crap! He was fantastic back in the day. I remember thinking the Spurs were silly to target him in the late 2000s because he was past his prime. He played close to star level these finals. Kudos!
I'm sure I have more than ten thoughts, which we'll likely discuss this week on the Boxscore Geeks Show. But those were the top ten things off the top of my head. Add yours to the comments below!
-Dre