The Cavaliers win game two and they and the Warriors are 1-1 in the NBA Finals....Who wins the championship title could depend on the will LeBron James imposes on the Cavs, and the will Stephen Curry imposes on the Warriors....Game three is June 9 at 9 pm....By Cleveland Urban News.Com Sportswriter Karl Kimbrough www.clevelandurbannews.com

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers (right) and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors (Photo compliments of Getty Images)

Cleveland Urban News.Com
Sportswriter Karl Kimbrough

By Karl Kimbrough, Cleveland Urban News.Com sportswriter (kimbrough@clevelandurbannews.com). Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Leaders In Black Digital News . Tel: 216-659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com 

 (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio-As we begin to analyze the start of the NBA Finals, anticipation of which team will be the ultimate champion of the match up between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors is escalating. The Warriors, on Thursday, won game one of the best of seven game championship series, 108-100, and the Cavaliers edged the Warriors in game two on Sunday, 95-93, both games played at the ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. Why is there so much anticipation for these NBA Finals games? (Editor's note: Game three, a home game for the Cavaliers at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, is Tuesday, June 9 at 9 pm EPT).

The NBA start date for the finals being set for June fourth gave the fans at least a week to think about which team has the best chance to win. That's way too much time to over think everything from who's going to guard Cavaliers forward LeBron James to what he's eating for his pregame meal. So by now fans are thirsting to satisfy their curiosity about these two dominant teams from the Eastern and Western conferences?

With the Cavaliers playing the Warriors only two times in the regular season each year, trying to figure out who has the advantage in this seven game series is very difficult, yet very intriguing as well. In this series you not only have this year's NBA MVP of Golden States' Stephen Curry going against a four time MVP in James, but the two teams are at the top in the NBA in several categories. The Cavaliers lead the league in points allowed at 92.6 in this post season. They also have the greatest point differential at eight point eight and Golden State is right behind the Cavaliers with an eight point differential.

Cleveland leads the league in these playoffs of allowing teams to shoot just 41 percent game. Golden State is not far behind allowing 43 percent shooting. Both teams guard the three point shot very well also. Cleveland is giving up just 28 percent from the three point arc while Golden State gives up only 31 percent.

Offensively, the two teams are statistically very close as well. Golden State is shooting 46.9 percent while Cleveland is shooting 45 percent from the field in the playoffs. The Cavaliers and Warriors not only guard the three point shot well but they both shoot the three point shot more than any other teams and it is a major part of their offenses. The Warriors shoot an average of 30.3 three pointers and make 11.5 per game and the Cavaliers average 29.1 three pointers and make 10.4 per game. Why are we giving attention to these statistics? It is because they have been key to both teams reaching the NBA Finals. Both teams rank either first or second in most of the these statistical categories.

The three point shot has take the place of low post scoring attempts for many NBA teams, which  is why three point shooting has become so prevalent in today's NBA. It is also an important factor in who has won and lost in these playoffs. So taking and making the three point shot is as important as being able to throw the ball down in the low post used to be in the days of the dominate big men. That's before centers and power forwards started to take their games to the perimeter.

The pick and roll is a play that teams often rely on in today's NBA as well to get high production inside the paint. It is a play that the Warriors had success with when they played the Cavaliers during the regular season. Passing and ball movement is where Golden State has a decided advantage over the Cavaliers and statistics bear this out.

The Warriors averaged 27 assist during the regular season and are averaging 25 during the Western Conference playoffs, a series they ultimately won to qualify to challenge Cleveland, the Eastern Conference title winner, in the NBA Finals series. The Warriors  are easily the number one assist team in the NBA in both the regular season and the playoffs. As you watch the Warriors play it is obvious they have several exceptional passers and facilitators from every position. Besides Curry at point guard other starters, such as Draymond Green and center Andrew Bogut, are excellent passers. At power forward Green is a key facilitator averaging over five assists per game in the playoffs, which is very unusual for a power forward. Small forward Andre Iguodala is also a good facilitator coming off the bench and plays the point at times. It will be very important for the Cavaliers to be aggressive and to get up close and personal on whoever they are guarding to make passing difficult.

Conversely, the Cavaliers as a team only averaged 18.9 assists per game in the Eastern Conference

playoffs and relied  mainly on James to facilitate for others on the perimeter and from the post. Key match ups to keep an eye on are Green at power forward opposing Tristan Thompson. Green is the most agile power forward that Thompson has faced and is their leading re-bounder. Green can pull Thompson away from the basket with his three point shooting which could hurt Thompson's rebounding on the defensive end. Offensively, at six ten Thompson who is second in the NBA in offensive rebounds in the post season has a three inch height advantage on Green who is six seven. That height advantage could present a problem for Green and the Warriors. The Warriors will probably use a mix of Harrison Barnes, Iguodala and Green to guard James.

The Warriors and Cavaliers were averaging 46 rebounds per game in playoffs prior to game one of the 

NBA Finals. All star guard Clay Thompson is scoring 19.7 points per game and will need to be watched closely as well. The Warriors bench is deep and cerebral with point guard Shawn Livingston and guard Leandro Barbosa. Center Festus Ezeli has been playing well lately and could get increased minutes in this series. Do not be surprised if forward David Lee gets some minutes off the bench. Lee has been problematic for Cleveland in the past. It is not known how healthy Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving will be, though he set out of game two, after limping off the court in game one. But if he  can battle through his injuries and put up good offensive numbers he can be a factor in keeping Curry 's energy level down and make him less effective on offense.

So there are several key factors in the match up, but Curry and James are the engines that make the Warriors and Cavaliers go. They are the primary ball handlers, decision makers and shooters for their respective teams, and their value to their teams can not be quantified through statistics alone.

Curry is averaging 29.2 points per game and James is averaging 27.6 points per game, though he finished with 44 points in game one of the NBA Finals Thursday night, and obviously not enough points to bring the Cavaliers a victory.

James and Curry, team leaders in their own right,  are players who can impose their will on the game. There are different ways players can impose their will. They can do it physically by having a skill set that can be overwhelming. 

Player's such as James and Curry can also impose their will by inspiring their teammates to the point of believing that they are better than they actually are. They can give them the confidence to believe in themselves so much that they can play over their heads for the period of time that is necessary to get the job done. Part of that ability to empower comes from their teammates knowing that they are playing with a player who is dominant and as close to being unstoppable as the definition of the word.

A dominant player can also influence the attention that the other four players on the opposing team gives to the player they are assigned to guard because they need to give help on him. If James or Curry can impose their will in this manner, the one that does it best will give their team a huge advantage in winning the championship. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)