The defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers have made it to a third consecutive Eastern Conference Finals, where they will face either the Boston Celtics or Washington Wizards. As of today, the Celtics are leading the series, 3-2.
A lot of basketball fans and analysts are predicting yet another meeting between the Cavs and Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, including Chauncey Billups. The 17-year veteran turned television analyst tells Paul Coro of The Los Angeles Times that he favors the Cavs to win this season’s championship in a seven game series.
“I don’t see any challenges coming from any other teams,” Billups said. “At the end of the day, the Warriors and Cavs are just better. I think it’ll be a seven-game series. You always have to be a little bit lucky to win a championship. The Cavs were fortunate that Draymond Green didn’t play Game 5 and rode that momentum. The year before, the Warriors were fortunate that Kyrie Irving got hurt.”
“I like Cleveland to win,” Billups continued. “They’ve got more shooters. They played a nine-man rotation in the last series and there’s only one guy who can’t make a three and that’s Tristan Thompson, but what he does is invaluable. LeBron James is still the best player in the world and now you’ve got guys around him knocking down shots.”
Will the Cavs and Warriors meet in the NBA Finals for an unprecedented third year in a row? Only time will tell. For now, let’s just focus on one game at a time.
