NBA Finals Preview: Warriors find a way past LeBron

League MVP Steph Curry will look to complete the Warriors record-setting season with an NBA championship.

The Warriors emerged out of the incredibly tough and deep Western Conference by closing out the Houston Rockets in five games in the Western Conference Finals. On the other hand, the Cavaliers, and mostly LeBron James, overwhelmed the inexperienced Atlanta Hawks in a clean sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals. While the Warriors had the slightly tougher road to get here, and are a tad healthier, the Cavaliers should present more problems than anyone they encountered in the West. This is in large part to the four-time MVP and two-time NBA champion LeBron James who has done what he has so often in the past in putting this Cavaliers team on his back and carrying them to the finals. Game three of the Eastern Conference Finals sticks out when James started 0 for 10 from the field only to go on and almost single-handedly muscle the Cavs past the Hawks to put them up 3-0 in the best of seven series. He posted a ridiculous 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists for a clutch, championship level triple-double that, he acknowledged, took its toll on his energy reserves. Performances like this are the main reason why Cleveland is in with a fighting chance to upset the favored Warriors in this year's finals. This year's league MVP Steph Curry of the Warriors and his strong supporting cast will no doubt have something to say about that, as Curry has posted 40-point nights against the Rockets and has come up with clutch shots of his own throughout the course of the playoffs (remember the corner three to force overtime against the Pelicans way back in the first round?). Each team's best player will no doubt play their part and be a huge factor in determining the outcome of this much-anticipated series, but the rest of the team on both sides will be the X-factor. The Warriors have been the 2nd most efficient offensive and defensive team thus far in this years' playoffs, averaging 107.3 points per game and allowing 98.9 points per game, while the Cavs have been the best, albeit in a weaker conference, scoring 108.6 points per game and allowing 98.5. With the clash of the two best postseason teams in terms of efficiency looming, something has got to give. When we look at the supporting cast of each squad, we tend to favor the Warriors, especially at the guard position. The Warriors sport a problematic rotation of Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa and Andre Iguodala. This is a great mix of young talent and veteran experience and leadership that can all have a various impact on the game offensively and defensively. In Game five of the Western Conference Finals, with Klay Thompson getting injured, Harrison Barnes stepped up with 24 points and 7 rebounds and Iguodala was assigned with defending James Harden for the majority of the night. Harden had his worst output of the series, only scoring 14 points, in the most important game in large part to the length and strong defense of Iguodala. We know what Curry and Thompson can do shooting the ball and creating off the dribble, but the plethora of guards that Golden State can rotate and throw at Cleveland will surely create matchup problems for the slightly hampered Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving missed two games of the East finals with a sore knee and is not at 100%, Iman Shumpert is a solid wing defender and will definitely challenge the Warriors' guards, J.R. Smith will most likely be his usual streaky-scoring self and can impact a game both positively and negatively and surprise back up point guard Matthew Dellavedova has shown tenacity on the defensive end and some offensive explosiveness in Irving's absence. The Cavs do not possess the same depth at this position that the Warriors do and will have a tough time containing Curry and Thompson especially with their current guard rotation. In addition to Irving being slightly banged up, Kevin Love has been sidelined and will not return for the finals. While the Cavs have been able to advance despite Love's absence, you have to think that they will miss his shooting and offensive prowess during this series. While LeBron is perfectly capable of putting in the majority of work and doing a lot of ball handling, he will need trusty shooters for drive and kick outs. Love is that guy he can rely on to create space and find the open shot when James penetrates inside. This puts a ton of pressure on guys like Smith to produce in Love's absence and not have cold shooting nights, since we know that the Warriors will not have that issue. Surprisingly  the Cavs have been the best three point defensive team in this year's playoffs, which given this particular matchup should boost their confidence heading in. If the Cavs can continue to defend the three point ball and their two superstars, James and Irving, can continue to produce and defend at a high level, Cleveland has a real chance in this series. In terms of interior play, the Warriors passed the tough test the Memphis Grizzlies presented in the second round, in dealing with big bodies Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The Cavs would be wise to try and slow this series down and make it more of a half-court contest as opposed to a transition-based, shooting series which would play into the Warriors hands. Tristan Thompson has stepped up in the playoffs, averaging 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, and will need to continue to control play down low in order for Cleveland to be successful. He and Timofey Mozgov will have to be strong on the boards against the likes of Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli for the Warriors, who have made their impact felt in spots during the postseason. While the intricacies of each matchup can be interesting to break down, the meat and potatoes of this series will come down to LeBron vs. Steph. The two best players in the world going toe-to-toe for the title will surely lend us an entertaining and captivating finals. You can never count out a team with LeBron James, but I like the overall depth and rotation of the Warriors more so than the Cavs. While the Cavs will try to slow this series down and break down the Warriors defense using different strategies, the Warriors free flowing pace and high level shooting will prove to be ultimate difference.

Prediction: Warriors in 7. 

Stanley Cup Finals Preview: Hawks will fly past Bolts

Blackhawks' goalie Corey Crawford will try to be the difference in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Blackhawks and Lightning both managed to come up with monumental Game 7 victories to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, but did so using vastly different methods. The Hawks relied on their veteran leadership and experience to get past the Anaheim Ducks, while the Lightning somehow managed to go into Madison Square Garden and do what no team had done before in beating the Rangers in a winner take all showdown in New York. Familiar faces stepped up for the Hawks when they needed them most in Captain Jonathan Toews, scoring four goals in the final five games of the series, and winger Patrick Kane, who recorded a goal and four assists in the final two games. Chicago's top four defensemen, who have basically been the only defensive players seeing big minutes of late in the postseason, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya have averaged 31:35, 26:21, 26:33 and 25:23 minutes per game in the playoffs respectively. The Hawks' defense have carried them to this point along with timely goal scoring and heady net minding from the previously benched Corey Crawford. Crawford was pulled early in Chicago's first round series against Nashville in favor of backup Scott Darling in a bold move by Head Coach Joel Quinneville. The move ended up paying off in a big way later in the postseason, even though Darling stepped in admirably, as Crawford has compiled a solid .929 save percentage. His counterpart in this series, Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, out-dueled and sometimes outplayed Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist throughout the course of the Eastern Conference Finals. Sure, he gave up 15 goals in three home playoff games, in which the Rangers looked like a completely different team, but those will be quickly overlooked as he posted back-to-back shutouts at Madison Square Garden in Games 5 and 7 to get the young Lightning group over the hump and into the Stanley Cup Finals. Bishop has posted a respectable .920 save percentage throughout the playoffs, and is also aided by the fact that he has the league's number one offensive team, 3.16 goals per game in the regular season, skating and flying around the ice in front of him. The Lightning's scary good top two lines have been the difference for their team thus far in the postseason. The "Triplets" line of Ondrej Palat-Nikita Kucherov-Tyler Johnson have posted ridiculous offensive numbers this postseason. Palat has registered 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points, Kucherov has posted 9 goals and 10 assists for 19 points, and the supposed Conn Smythe Trophy favorite Johnson has been arguably the most effective player in the playoffs with 12 goals and 9 assists for 21 points. Their other top line of Steven Stamkos-Alex Killorn-Valtierri Filppula have combined for 44 points in the postseason to complement the "Triplets" line and have been equally tough to defend and contain as the formidable defensive depth of the Rangers found out in the previous round. While the goal-tending match-up could very well be the key and determination of who lifts Lord Stanley's Cup in a few weeks, this series has the ear markings of a shootout, high scoring tilt. There are simply too many skill players and snipers on both sides of the ice that can impact the game and make highlight-reel plays. Combined with the fact that, by Stanley Cup Finals standards, there are two average goalies in net, this will most likely come down to which forwards can ultimately take control of the series. Chicago is retaining 13 players from their recent Stanley Cup title in 2013, while the Lightning only have a few players who have reached the Stanley Cup Finals with their lone champion being Filppula with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008. This series will not be as one-sided as many people think, but the Hawks experience and stout defense will be able to pressure Tampa Bay's snipers enough to limit their production. Crawford's championship pedigree speaks a little louder then Bishop's play in the playoffs thus far, and Chicago's top guns will take control and make plays when needed against a slightly weaker Bolts defense. We should be in for an entertaining, end-to-end style in this series with a lot of wide open ice, but I will lean towards the Blackhawks to take this series in a high-octane six games. 

Prediction: Blackhawks in 6.