Not So Easy Right?

Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors this summer thinking that they would give him the best chance to win the NBA title. The season started off smoothly for the Golden State Warriors, becoming the first team this season to reach 50 wins and clinch a playoff spot. The Warriors are the team to beat this season; the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA title last season but with Kevin Durant on the Warriors they are favorited to win the title this season.

The Golden State Warriors are (6-4) in their last 10 games. Kevin Durant sprained his MCL almost 2 weeks ago and the Warriors have not looked the same. Curry is not playing like the way he did last year when he won the MVP. Kevin Durant is the Golden State Warriors; without him the Warriors are not the same team. Teams like the Houston Rockets and of course the San Antonio Spurs will give Golden State problems in the playoffs if they don’t have their best player Kevin Durant. The Spurs are now one game back from the Warriors for the number 1 seed in the Western Conference. Kevin Durant is going to miss the rest of the regular season; the Warriors will most likely not keep the 1 one seed in the west without Durant. The Spurs are (9-1) their last 10 games.

Many teams made their last minute transactions before the trade deadline passed. The Cleveland Cavaliers added veterans like Deron Williams, Kyler Korver and Andrew Bogut; whom got hurt just after two minutes in his first game as a Cavalier. Realistically, Bogut was not a key part of Cleveland’s rotation so this injury won’t impact them as much. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best change to beat the Warriors especially with superstar players like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

If Kevin Durant doesn’t come back to full strength during the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors will lose in the second round of the playoffs. They signed players like Matt Barnes to replace Durant. Barnes is no Durant and he won’t contribute enough to replace Kevin Durant. The San Antonio Spurts, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and the sleeper team that no one talks about; the Utah Jazz. Utah has an excellent defense and is going to be a hard team to knock out the playoffs. Not going to be so easy for the Warriors.

Batman & Robin

Cavalier’s Forward LeBron James has played with many players in his career. The best player he played with in his first seven years in the NBA was Mo Williams. At the time Mo Williams was not a great player but was good player. We all know that LeBron was not able to get an NBA title in Cleveland the first time he was there. Playing with players like Larry Hughes and Mo Williams can only get you so far. Although, LeBron did carry the entire Cavaliers team and reached the NBA finals in 2007 but only to get swept by the Spurs.

In 2010, LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers to play along side Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The Cavaliers failed to get LeBron some playmakers so he decided to leave the team when he was a free agent. LeBron James now finally has a robin; Dwyane Wade is a player that can make plays on his own when LeBron is tired or on the bench. The Miami Heat reached four straight NBA finals; winning two NBA titles with LeBron being named MVP in both titles. After four season in Miami and coming off a finals lost; LeBron started to feel like he was back in Cleveland again. Injuries and age started to take its toll on Dwyane Wade and former all-star Chris Bosh. LeBron James is now a free agent again and planned on returning back home to Cleveland.

The Cavaliers had a star of their own; young point guard Kyrie Irving. Cleveland picked Irving with the 1st overall pick the year after LeBron left.

Kyrie Irving 

Irving won Rookie of the Year and has been putting the league on notice with highlight after highlight. LeBron said one of the reasons he decided to come back was to be able to play with a young guard like Irving. At the time of LeBron’s return to Cleveland, Irving was only 21 with incredible skill set. LeBron knew that Cleveland had a bright future with him playing along side Irving.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving’s first season in Cleveland together had some growing pains but they were able to reach the NBA finals. That season was Irving’s first time in the playoffs and LeBron James was on a quest to bring Cleveland their first NBA title. That quest came up short in the NBA finals when Irving got injured the first game in the finals. LeBron did all he could but came up short and lost to Golden State.

Batman & Robin were back to full strength their second season together. LeBron and Irving went on a tear that season and carried it into the playoffs. Cavaliers were at full strength for the finals rematch against Golden State. Golden State set the NBA record for most wins in a single season (72), but LeBron and Irving were not worried about that. Cleveland found themselves down 3-1 in the finals.

Kyrie Irving’s game winning shot

LeBron and Irving averaged almost 40 points each game for the rest of the finals. With Kyrie Irving hitting the game-winning shot in game 7 to bring Cleveland their first NBA title in team history. LeBron James has played with many great players like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Kevin Love; but  Kyrie Irving is the best player LeBron has played with his entire career. He is only 24. That is the real Batman & Robin.

“The Return of The King”

There were many questions about the decision of Cleveland Cavaliers Forward LeBron James when he decided to return back to his hometown Akon, Ohio this past summer. The Cavaliers had just won the draft lottery and were poised to make a run for LeBron James during the free agency period. LeBron’s Miami Heat team had just got destroyed by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals. Many NBA experts predicted that the Miami Heat were not going to be a championship team the following season which was one of the contributing factors to why LeBron left the team.

Cleveland Cavalier’s roster was very young and had a promising point guard in Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers also had other young players and picks to trade to improve their roster. During the meeting with LeBron James and his agent; the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to convince James that they would get another All-Star (Kevin Love) along side Kyrie and himself.

The season did not start well for the Cavaliers. They were bothered with injuries and the team chemistry was just not there. Their bench was not very deep and were forced to play old veterans. LeBron knew that this was not a championship team at this point of the season. The Cavaliers then made a mid-season trade for Jr. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov.

The trade for Jr. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov was what saved the Cleveland Cavaliers season. The Cavaliers roster was still injured at the time of the trade so they were not a complete team until after the All-Star break.

(This image coming after the Game 3 overtime victory over Atlanta Hawks) Currently, the Cavaliers are now one game away from reaching the 2015 NBA Finals. So to the people that thought LeBron made a bad decision can now eat their words because the Cavaliers roster is the best in the NBA. They are still finding ways to win even without Kyrie Irving being 100 percent. Some may argue that the Golden State Warriors are a better team but only the NBA Finals will tell which is the better team because it is looking like the 2015 NBA Finals is going to be between Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Go CAVS!!!