One For The Ages

(Tony Dejak/Associated Press)

The stage has been set. Game 7 of the NBA finals. One game to determine the NBA champion. Will it be the Golden State Warriors who won a record 73 games? Will it be back to back titles vs the same team? Will Steph Curry set the Warriors up for a potential three peat and begin to make a case that he will be one of the greatest players ever?

Or will it be the Cavaliers who’s city, Cleveland, is looking for its first major title since 1964 in a major sport. Will LeBron become a hometown hero and win it all for his city. Will the Cavaliers be the first team to ever come back down from a 3-1 deficit in the finals? There are many questions that will be answered Sunday in a historic game seven.

Before we get into the game and what might or might not happen we need to just pause and realize the great moment in sports history. This game seven will go down in history as one of the greatest sports moments of this generation and maybe even in all of American sports history. A team with 73 wins vs. a team trying to end a city’s 52 year championship drought. It may be a long time before we see a game of this magnitude again.

If you were old enough to remember Super Bowl XXXIV (34), when the Rams beat the Titans and on the final play of the game, Kevin Dyson, of the Titans, reached his out stretched arm as far as he possibly could and fell just one yard short of winning the Super Bowl.

We all remember when the Red Sox famously came back from a 3-0 deficit to their archival Yankess in the 2004 American Legaue Championship Series and eventually ending an 86 year championship drought.

Just last year we witnessed American Pharaoh win the first Triple Crown in 37 years in horse racing.

These three examples are all extremely historic moments in American sports. We can think about exactly where we were, or what we were doing when they happened. As they happened we couldn’t believe our eyes. It all seemed impossible and gave us goosebumps. That is what will happen Sunday in game seven. We will witness a historic moment.

This game is intriguing for many reasons. The Cavs are the first team in 50 years to force a game seven in the finals when trailing 3-1. The Cavs and Warriors enter game with with both scoring 610 points. This is the first time in history that two teams enter game seven of the NBA Finals with scoring the exact same amount of points. This is the type of game that you remember and talk about for decades.

LeBron is coming off of back to back 40 point games. Curry is coming off a 28 point performance before eventually fouling out and being ejected. It is easy to tell both players want this badly. It means a lot to each player’s personal legacy but to win this game seven it isn’t what LeBron or Steph do that will determine the out come. It comes down to the roll players.

LeBron and Kyrie will have their handprints all over this game but they need Tristian Thompson to get a double double. They need J.R. Smith to hit three or four threes. If Smith and Thompson have great games the Cavaliers will win their first ever championship.

Just as we know LeBron and Kyrie will get theirs, so will Steph and Klay. The Warriors also know they can count on Draymond Green to make a big impact as well. Andre Iguodala’s back will be of major concern because if he can’t contribute defensively then nobody will slow LeBron down. The x-factor in this game will be Harrison Barnes. Harrison Barnes has had wide open shots in games five and six but has only shot 2-22 from the field, and 1-12 from beyond the arc. In game six he didn’t make a single shot going 0-8 from the field and 0-5 from three. If he is able to score between 12-15 points in game seven the Warriors will repeat as champions.

This game is a tough one to predict and with taking everything into account I just can’t imagine the Warriors losing three straight games, in which two of those games being at home. The Warriors are a historically great team. A game seven win will cement the legacy of this 73 win team as one of, if not the, greatest team of all time. I think Steph scores at least 35 points and the Warriors win their second consecutive championship 104-99.