Golden State Warriors: 5 X-Factors In The 2015 NBA Finals
1. The Health Factor
This one is obvious. Even with Klay Thompson being cleared to play in Game 1, the world will be waiting to see how he plays after sustaining a concussion in the Western Conference Finals.
(If you thought there was even a chance Thompson wouldn’t be cleared for Game 1 of the Finals after re-entering Game 5 of the WCFs with BLOOD COMING OUT OF HIS EAR, you’re crazy. That clearance means nothing to me until I see Thompson playing sound basketball again.)
But the Cavs also have plenty of injury problems to worry about, most notably, Kyrie Irving. If Irving can’t give Cleveland 100 percent, it might not matter what kind of effort Thompson is able to put forth. There’s no way Kyrie is going to miss Game 1, but will his knee still be a nagging problem? Will he be able to outplay Curry for a few games like he’ll need to for the Cavs to have a fighting chance?
Luckily, the NBA’s decision to keep the Finals start date set for Jun. 4 has given both teams an opportunity to rest up and try to get everyone healthy again. But we can’t pretend like injuries won’t play a factor in this series, especially since Kevin Love has been out since the first round.
Whichever team is able to weather the storm with one of their backcourt stars banged up might be the team that hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy in a few weeks.
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