Golden State’s two-time MVP was a shadow of himself in last year’s NBA finals. But now he is making the team his own againThe obvious reaction three games into an NBA finals the Golden State Warriors are almost certain to win is that Kevin Durant is the series MVP. After all, he is averaging 34 points and 10 rebounds a game and pulled out Game 3 for Golden State with a three-pointer that clinched the 118-113 victory over Cleveland. Most will say he is clearly the difference between the 2017 and 2016 finals, which the Cavaliers won in seven games.But they forget that the Warriors also have Stephen Curry back. Related: Warriors one win from NBA title after late rally...
Golden State’s traditional fanbase has stuck with them through thick and thin. But a new menace has risen from Silicon Valley ...It was hard to find anyone who begrudged Cleveland fans their championship 12 months ago. The fanbase had suffered through decades of losing and crushing defeats; there had been tears and screams and, yes, even flames. The collective futility of the Cavaliers, Indians and Browns had endured year-round, one failed season rolling into the next. And all the sports misery occurred at a time when the city and the entire region of northeast Ohio was struggling just to survive. So only the cruelest of souls were upset by the sight of a million people in the streets of Cleveland...
The Cleveland star’s greatness created an arms race in basketball, and it has reached its apotheosis in the Golden State WarriorsLeBron James’ basketball career has played out like the story of a comic book superhero, so it’s only fitting that his downfall should have a fittingly dramatic twist: that which he created became that which destroyed him. James ushered in the modern NBA “superteam” in 2010 (distinct from the past eras of the Lakers in the 80s and Bulls in the 90s) when he signed with the Miami Heat to join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. There he won two titles in four years and then returned to Cleveland for a new superteam with Kyrie Irving and Kevin...
If the Cavaliers keep turning in inexplicably soft performances like Thursday’s Game 1 laugher, their NBA finals rematch with Golden State will be a short oneOn television it must have looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers were fleeing like frightened rats when Kevin Durant stormed through the lane for dunks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Who could blame them if they were? Once Golden State’s superstar forward gets running down court, all 6ft 9in of him, few players are willing to jump in his way.The truth was that Cleveland’s players were striking their own losing bargain in their 113-91 loss to the Warriors: either stop Durant on the fast break and leave Steph Curry and Klay Thompson open for...
It’s Golden State Warriors v Cleveland Cavaliers Part III. Guardian writers look at what each team must do to win. And whether Draymond Green will explodeGolden State Warriors, 4-2. LC Related: Kevin Durant and the making of an unlikely NBA finals villain Continue reading...