Many people around the NBA and fans of the Warriors and Cavs (including me) have marked Christmas day on their calendars and have been anxiously awaiting its arrival, but I think we all need to take a step back and remind ourselves to not overreact no matter what the outcome. As a Cleveland sports fan, I have often fallen victim to extreme feelings of emotion following meaningless regular season games.
Growing up in Northeast Ohio, it has generally been more of an “Only in Cleveland” attitude or thinking about how it is possible for my teams to be this bad for this long. I have also on occasion fallen prey to getting over-excited for a Browns win (although I can’t even remember the last one now).
Before the big game tips off on Christmas Day, I think it’s important to think about what happened last season. The Warriors beat the Cavs on Christmas Day, and they also turned around and completely dominated the Cavs by 34 points in mid-January in Cleveland. Everyone was saying that the Cavs didn’t have a chance if there was a rematch in the NBA Finals. The Warriors broke the record for most wins in the regular season, but that wasn’t even the biggest obstacle. The Cavs then went down 3-1 in the Finals. We all know what happened after that.
For these two teams, it all comes down to who is healthy and playing their best basketball at playoff time. Sure the Warriors could blow the Cavs out again, and all of their shooters could be hot. They might look like they are going to cruise through the regular season again and be unstoppable on another quest for a championship. The Cavs may be exposed for their lack of depth at point guard and in the post. Maybe the Warriors can parlay their win into the confidence they need to help them finish the Cavs off in the Finals this year.
On the other hand, the Cavs could blow out the Warriors this time. Maybe they shut down the Warriors shooters, and LeBron gets to the basket at will because of the Warriors’ lack of a rim protector. People would be talking about how the Cavs have them figured out and are a lock to repeat as NBA Champions. Others might say that the Warriors just have too many guys that need the ball to have an impact on the game, or they might say that that the Warriors can never repeat without any kind of interior presence.
The other possibility is that it turns out to be the close, hard-fought game that everyone anticipated. It’s back-and-forth, shot-for-shot, and the game comes down to the closing seconds like the thrilling Game 7 from last year’s Finals. Maybe we’re in for another exciting ride to a “rubber-match” in the Finals this year. The game could come down to the final possession and be a toss-up game that causes everyone to speculate on who the better team is for the rest of the year.
No matter what the outcome, the important thing to remember is that championships are not won in December, and the outcome of this game may not have any impact on who wins this year’s Finals. The Warriors still have more time to gel and work the kinks out of their incredibly potent scoring lineup. The Cavs still have time to figure out answers for depth at the point guard and post positions, and we are all in for another entertaining and potentially surprising ride through the playoffs.
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