The NBA Finals have been filled with surprises so far. The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing out of their minds despite missing plenty of key members of the team. The Golden State Warriors meanwhile lost their basketball skills to the Monstars. All three games have been close and game 3 nearly went to another overtime. The Warriors have the skills to win and are the favorites but how long till they find their basketball abilities? The Cavaliers are up 2-1 and if they win another game it will most likely be too late for the Warriors.

1. The Warriors have terrible body language right now. The Warriors aren’t making their shots. Not only did the Warriors make these shots during the regular season, they made them efficiently. Draymond Green dropped off of the face of the planet. Andrew Bogut is nonexistent. Steph Curry had a terrible game 2. The bench has been keeping Golden State in every game but it’s time for the starters to get back into it. Unfortunately, the Warriors look really dejected after three games. Steph Curry played with an empty look in his eyes all of game 3, especially after being slide tackled by Lebron near the end of the game. Draymond Green has shown his frustrations with his shot and the officiating. The Warriors have their heads down and the vibe coming from the team just isn’t good right now. Curry stepped up in the second half of game 3 but someone else needs to step up as the spiritual leader here and help the starters rise up again.
2. This will be Lebron’s sweetest championship yet. Lebron James is willing this team of misfits to a championship with crafty passes and insane isolation plays. He’s already won two championships but winning against such a juggernaut team with such a limited cast while finally giving the city of Cleveland a championship will be the sweetest one. Lebron knows this and he has not let his foot off the gas pedal even momentarily. On top of all that, Lebron has an additional secret motivation driving him.
3. Matthew Dellavedova has been saying his prayers and taking his vitamins. The mini Hulk Hogan has been relentless in the entire playoffs. He annoys players, plays tenacious defense, and has hit big shots. Dellavedova hit a big tear drop shot near the end of game 3 and got the foul against Steph Curry. Dellavedova’s defense has been overrated by some as Curry broke out of his shooting slump and shot 50% from three during game 3 and nearly got the Warriors to tie the game. But considering Cleveland lost Kyrie Irving, Dellavedova has made quite the impact. Delly will never be the offensive nightmare Irving is, but he brings all those extra intangible teams love during the playoffs.
4. Can Cleveland bring this group back this summer? In short, no. Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova, and Iman Shumpert are all free agents after this season. Re-signing Thompson and Love to max contracts and then re-signing Lebron James next summer will have the Cavaliers putting roughly 60 million towards their power forward position. Delly has become a fan favorite and will probably be re-signed on a decent contract. The odd man out is likely Shumpert. Shumpert brings some good athletic defense and can knock down the occasion three but his skills can be replicated for less money than he will most likely command.
5. What will Kevin Love do and does Cleveland really need him? As stated, Love is a free agent after he opts out this summer but Love has been a bit ambiguous about his intentions. He seemed miserable playing on this team going from dominating power forward to stretch four. But recently Love has stated his intent to be back on this team next year. Perhaps the great post season play has convinced him that this may be the best situation. But if Kevin Love wants to cement his legacy as a dominating player, he may want to switch teams. Tristan Thompson may be the better option at the four spot at this point with his intense rebounding and defense. Love will never be good on defense. He hasn’t even tried to play good defense. Effort makes up for a lot of deficiencies, ask James Harden. Love has to decide what he values more, being an integral part of an offense or winning championships.
6. Andre Iguodala is Golden State’s lost star. Iguodala is one of the league’s smartest players and he’s showing exactly why Golden State signed him to that big contract despite having Harrison Barnes under contract. He has played tough defense against Lebron every game and has made critical plays during all three games of the Finals. Iguodala made Lebron miss his potential game winning shot against Golden State in game 1. Iguodala has always been uncomfortable being the number 1 option on a good team and now as he’s aging he’s an important cog on a championship caliber team. Somehow Steve Kerr convinced him to come off the bench and plenty of teams could use AI as their third banana but here with the Warriors he’s the fourth, fifth, or even sixth option sometimes. Iguodala has been the only consistent player on the Warriors squad and he may have to stop being so skittish on that three point line and become more aggressive on offense if the Warriors want that championship.
7. The Warriors need another playmaker. Cleveland has exposed a big weakness and Golden State hasn’t figured out a way to fix it. Cleveland is playing lockdown defense on Steph Curry and while he probably won’t have anymore games like his game 2 performance, it has made him make countless silly turnovers. Golden State needs to figure out a way to get the ball moving again and relying on Curry to make all the plays isn’t an option. Cleveland has allowed Curry to pass the ball to Green during pick and rolls but Green has been unable to make the right plays to make Cleveland pay. Shaun Livingston is a good backup point guard with great length to guard big players, even seeing duty going against Lebron. But Livingston can’t shoot and neither can Iguodala leaving Cleveland’s defense an easy chance to guard everyone else. Kerr needs to stagger their minutes better or Livingston and AI need to be more aggressive about getting to the hoop. Leandro Barbosa is another capable guard of making plays but he’s not the same player and is prone to make costly turnovers. Klay Thompson can make plays here and there but it doesn’t seem Golden State is comfortable having him do it. Bogut can also create plays at the elbow but Bogut has disappeared in the Finals. An adjustment needs to be made and I’m willing to bet Golden State will look for another playmaker this offseason.
8. David Lee is back! After rarely playing in these playoffs David Lee is back in the rotation. Lee played valuable minutes in game 3 and you’ve got to hang it to Kerr’s coaching team for trying different things. People forget that Lee is still a very good player. He feasts in the paint, can step out and make a mid range shot, and can make the occasional play. Golden State has kept him on their bench and he may not be their secret weapon. Or perhaps this will lite a fire under Draymond Green and make him play harder again.