NBA Roundtable: How Will the NBA Finals Turn Out?

By Kohl Rast

Sep 15, 2017

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 15: The Golden State Warriors celebrates with fans after winning the 2017 NBA Championship during a parade on June 15, 2017 in Oakland, CA. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jack Arent/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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As it goes every year, the staff here at The Smoking Cuban is set to make predictions and the first topic none of us really want to talk about is the NBA Finals. The Finals have been pre-determined at the beginning of the season for the last 3 years it seems like and not much appears to be changing for most of us.

The big difference between the staff members came simply by way of how many games we felt it would take for Golden State to knock off Cleveland. Although no one picked a sweep, the rest was relatively predictable. That being said, there were a few surprise picks along the way.

The last three seasons, the Warriors and Cavs have met in the NBA Finals, alternating every year with the Warriors as the most recent champs. Golden State has not had any major roster changes and are, unsurprisingly, the heavy favorites to do it all again behind Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and the rest.

Cleveland will have a very different look this time around as they have found a new starting point guard in Isaiah Thomas and a potential starting shooting guard in Jae Crowder. The moves appear to help the Cavs for the most part, but missing Kyrie Irving in the playoffs could be big.

Could Boston slip their way into the NBA Finals? Will San Antonio give Golden State more trouble with a healthy Kawhi Leonard? Is LeBron James ready to dethrone the Golden State Goliaths one more time? See what our staff thinks.