2016 NBA Finals Preview: Warriors vs. Cavaliers

Small Forward

Harrison Barnes (GSW) vs. LeBron James (CLE)

With their season on the line in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, Steve Kerr swapped Harrison Barnes out of the starting lineup for Andre Iguodala (on Harry B’s birthday, no less!), so there’s no guarantee Barnes gets the starting nod here.

That switch was more matchup-based than anything else, but there’s a chance Kerr goes to it again since he’ll need Iggy matched up on LeBron James the same way he needed him to limit Kevin Durant.

In any case, we’ll stick with Barnes here since it really doesn’t matter which wing the Warriors go with; LeBron James was always going to have the upper hand in this category anyway.

For the Cavs to pull off the upset in this series, it’s no secret they’ll need King James to have the kind of all-time performance he had in last year’s Finals, when he averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game (shooting efficiency be damned; he carried Cleveland in that series).

So far this postseason, James has been dominant when he’s needed to be, averaging 24.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game on 54.6 percent shooting — impressive numbers considering Cleveland’s more balanced attack featuring a healthy Kyrie and Kevin Love.

There’s just one concern in a series like this: Will LeBron James’ three-point shot show up as well?

Unlike the other defenses Cleveland has faced in the playoffs thus far, the Warriors have the personnel to (somewhat) keep LeBron out of the lane, where he’s lived for the entire year. They also have multiple defenders to throw at him and will do a better job of forcing him to shoot as opposed to letting him drive and kick every time down the floor.

That could be a problem if James continues to struggle with his perimeter shot. He’s converted only 32.2 percent of his three-point attempts in the playoffs, which is actually an upgrade over the 30.9 percent shooting he posted during the regular season.

In the playoffs, 96 of LeBron’s 137 made field goals have come from less than five feet away from the basket, where he’s shooting 71.6 percent. On all shots outside of five feet, his efficiency dropped to 35 percent.

The advantage is still decidedly in LeBron’s favor here, but if Barnes and Iguodala can tag-team this matchup and keep the stronger James out of the paint, the Cavs are going to need an unexpected streak of scorching perimeter shooting from the King to stand a chance in this series.

Advantage: Cleveland Cavaliers

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