The Wait Is Over!!!
After an entire week of no basketball, the NBA Finals are here.
No more talk about how the Golden State Warriors are going to slow down LeBron James.
No more talk about how the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to stop Stephen Curry.
It's finally time to see how everything is going to play out instead of speculation and over-analyzing every small detail.
This could possibly be one the most anticipated Finals the NBA has seen in years.
Two major stars in the league are set to face off.
James is very familiar with the NBA Finals. This will be his sixth Finals appearance in the last nine years.
"The King" has faced off against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals three times as a part of both the Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.
He has also matched up against Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, as well as Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
If you were to combine the style of play from the Spurs, with the depth of the 2011 Mavericks, and the star-power of the Thunder, you would create this year's Warriors.
The Warriors play a brand of basketball much like Gregg Popovich's Spurs. They hustle up and down the court. Although they have two all-stars in the starting lineup, Golden State runs an unselfish type of offense. The most important similarity, the Warriors play tough defense.
Much like the 2011 Mavericks who had depth in the starting lineup as well as the bench, the Warriors are going to throw 11 to 12 guys at LeBron and the Cavs throughout the series.
The Thunder, of course, have a two headed monster of Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Warriors have their own two headed monster of Curry and Klay Thompson. In fact, some would argue Draymond Green could make it a three headed monster.
The simple fact is, LeBron has never faced a team like the Warriors. He's faced teams with certain similarities, but never a team this polished in all aspects of the game.
Of course when you talk about a player who has been to the Finals six times, who is clearly the best basketball player in the world, and has carried multiple teams on his back, it's really tough to say he can't handle a certain team or player.
The King may be 2-3 in the NBA Finals, but the fact that he has made it to the Finals now six times is something a very small amount of players can actually say.
Not only has he been to the Finals six times, but he has also done it with teams who have lacked depth, and in some circumstances, talent.
LeBron James could be the answer to any question you have about whether the Cavs can beat the Warriors.
"The Warriors depth will be too much for the Cavs to handle."
"Yeah, but the Cavs have LeBron."
"Once the Warriors start hitting shots it's hard to keep up with them."
"Yeah, but LeBron."
"The Warriors defense has been the best in the league all season."
"Yeah, but he's the King."
The point is, this series can go either way.
If you think the Cavaliers will win it, nobody is going to think you're crazy. If you think the Warriors will win it, you wouldn't be the only one.
You can make an argument for either team to win this years NBA Finals, but all of those arguments will be put to rest tonight at tip-off for game one.
But don't get too excited, after tonight's game, you have to wait until Sunday for game two.