Photo Credit: Rocky Widner/Getty Images
The NBA will have lots of new faces in the conference finals this year. No Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, or Dwyane Wade. Instead, it will be the reigning MVP Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors will face off against the runner up in MVP voting James Harden and the Houston Rockets. In the Eastern Conference, it will be Lebron James and the injury depleted Cleveland Cavaliers against the team first Atlanta Hawks.
Western Conference Finals
It’s no surprise the Warriors are here. The Warriors have had a historic season under new head coach Steve Kerr. It was really a matter of who they would face. After stunning exits by the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets will face Golden State to see who will represent the west in the NBA Finals.
The Rockets are an interesting team made up of James Harden, Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, and Pablo Prigioni. It is no surprise that they made it to the playoffs, did you see Harden play this season? However, no one was really sure how far they would go once they go there. After beating the Mavericks and Clippers, they are looking like more of a legitimate threat. They battled back from a twenty point deficit in game six against the Clippers to force a game seven in Houston. During that game, they wiped the floor with Los Angeles and sent them packing questions what to do next with their team.
However, the Warriors have been a different beast all season behind Splash Brothers, Curry and Klay Thompson. Thompson has had a quiet postseason, but managed to step it up against the Grizzlies in the absence of “first-team all defense” Tony Allen. Golden State has dominated Houston, beating them all four of their meetings this season. The Warriors were first this season in both points and assists per game.
Eastern Conference Finals
Yes, he did it for the fifth time in a row. Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the finals, but are without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving has been limited due to injury. Not exactly how they pictured it, but the Cavs managed to get it done against Chicago so something is working. Irving will get some time to rest, but he missed practice yesterday. He still hopes to play in game one, but if not Matthew Dellavedova who has stepped up quiet nicely in his absence will start.
Their opponent, the Atlanta Hawks, doesn’t have a conventional superstar surrounded by role players team. Instead, they are all stars who can all attack you at any point; quite a different style than most teams in the NBA. Sound familiar to a certain Western Conference team who just won their fifth ring together? Well look no further than their new head coach Mike Budenholzer, a former assistant coach to the Spurs. Obviously the Spurs can rely on talent alone to take them to the finals, but their team-first attitude has proven a winning mentality. For more proof that the Hawks can matchup with the Cavs, they have managed to beat James and the Cavs in every regular season meeting.
