Finals Live Thread: Cavs @ Warriors, Game 1 (#Threequel)

Blame the recent Ct:B debate about who’s the best Joker for the title picture on this thread… y’all should know by now that’s how my entertainment-corrupted brain works. Yet, it’s a pretty fitting reference to the Cavs’ de facto Batman and Robin in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. The dynamic duo will have to be at the top of their game once again to fell the Suicide Squad of Warriors and prove their legions of national media hype-o-chondriacs spend way too much time gushing over regular season analytics.

It’s probably going to be difficult for this threequel to live up to last year’s sequel, though. It’s rare that you even get a sequel that’s better than the original (Godfather II, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan and The Empire Strikes Back are the only ones that stand out to me), let alone a threequel. Especially, when that sequel resulted in a historic comeback that culminated in the first Cleveland major sports championship in more than five decades. However, both teams are significantly better than their previous incarnations. There are new players in the mix, deeper benches, and no real injuries to speak of, as both teams are well rested.

These two teams know each other, have watched and studied each other from afar all season, and also don’t particularly like each other all that much. Somehow, and maybe for the first time in recent memory, the reigning champs are cast as the underdogs. The challengers who were at one point the golden boys of basketball, have been recast as the villains. Both of these narratives were made possible by Kevin Durant adhering to the old adage of “if you can’t beat ’em… join ’em.”

At this point… everything’s been said. The die is about to be cast. The pressure will be officially on…

The starting lineups look like this…

For the Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.

For the Warriors: Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and ZaZa Pachulia.

Prediction: There’s nothing rational at all about this series or the hype leading up to this series… so why not go with an irrational prediction… Cavs outlast the Dubs 125-122 in overtime to shock the sellout crowd at Oracle… and the 93% of the population who think Golden State will win this series easily.

Catch all the action on ABC starting at 9pm (EST). And, don’t forget to share your thoughts here on Cavs: the Blog!

Here’s my favorite threequel hype video so far this year… (yes, there are a few GS highlights in there too, but make sure you watch it until the end…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4YpM7gkVPs

LET’S GO CAVS!!!