The Warriors’ success in this year’s NBA Finals will depend on whether they are able to slow down LeBron James.
The 2018 Finals matchup between the Warriors and Cavaliers is different than any of the past three years because Cleveland does not have Kyrie Irving.
Kyrie gave LeBron a reliable second option on the offensive end in those series, and the Cavs haven’t been able to find another solid ball-handler to pair with James after trading Irving to Boston.
With Kevin Love’s status up in the air due to a concussion, the Warriors can now focus all of their energy on defending LeBron.
James will certainly put up some big numbers in the Finals, but Golden State has more options for defending LeBron than nearly any team in the league.
However, they may be without their best option for guarding LeBron as Andre Iguodala is seeking a second opinion on his left knee injury.
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According to data from Second Spectrum, Iguodala has guarded LeBron James 673 times over the last three NBA Finals series between the Warriors and Cavs.
LeBron has 34 turnovers in those possessions, and Cleveland has an offensive efficiency rating of 104.9 as a team with Iggy defending James. In 843 possessions where Iguodala is not guarding James, the Cavs’ offensive efficiency jumps to 114.2 and LeBron has a much better turnover rate (37 in 843 possessions).
If Iguodala can return for Game 1, he can expect to see a lot of LeBron, even if he’s not 100 percent healthy.
Kevin Durant will likely match up with LeBron at certain points in this series as well. He had some highlight plays defending James last year, and KD’s incredible length could make James’ life a bit more difficult in this series.
Draymond Green will also be on LeBron duty during some possessions in the Finals, especially if Kevin Love is out of the lineup. Green is the Warriors’ best overall defender, and he’s had an incredible postseason on that end of the floor.
Steve Kerr likes to use Draymond in a free safety role to accentuate his help defense, but he may be forced to match Green up with LeBron one-on-one more often than usual.
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Klay Thompson and Shaun Livingston could also get the LeBron assignment for certain stints in the series.
The Cavs will likely use a similar offensive system as the Rockets did in the Western Conference Finals where they attempt to attack Steph Curry on the defensive end. Cleveland has put a bullseye on Steph’s jersey in past Finals matchups, and I’d expect LeBron to seek him out again in this series.
Golden State will need to send some extra help towards Curry when that happens as they did in the past few games of the Rockets series.
Overall, the Warriors’ defense was pretty incredible against Houston in the Conference Finals, and the Cavs don’t have as much secondary talent as the Rockets did.
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However, guarding LeBron will be one of the biggest challenges they’ve faced all year long, and luckily the Warriors have stacked their roster with plenty of defensive wings to throw at him.