Voted NO. WAYYYYY to early. We have all the fun of free agency moves and an increased cap, so anything could happen. Plus I don't think GSW are gonna take this loss lightly.
They have the best player in the game. A good number 2 in Kyrie. If they are healthy, they have a chance.
They are still the best team in the East right now. It will come down a few things though: 1. Health. Love is injury prone. While mostly a non-factor in the Finals, he was a decent contributor during the playoff run. He plays next year more like he did in Game 7 and stays healthy, that will be key. If both Irving and Lebron get injured, they may not make it out of the East. With one of them, they still could but it may exhaust that star for the Finals. 2. Lebron aging. Lebron is still young but he has an insane amount of miles on his legs. Next year it may require Irving to take some of the load off Lebron's shoulders. He is still young and seems mature, but that leap is one few players actually make. 3. Bench/Depth/Energy (e.g. Richard Jefferson). During the first part of the Warriors series, Jefferson was a linchpin because of smarts, size, dependability, and energy. Too many of their current bench players were much non-factors. You can't expect to get away with that again next year, especially if teams opt to let the role players beat them. If they don't improve their bench, it will be hard. This will be key to ensure they can beat the Warriors, Thunder, & Spurs next year.
They might be the favorites for the following reasons: 1) The East is weak, so they are likely making the Finals. 2) LeBron seems to have figured out how to conserve energy in the regular season and then turn it on the playoffs. He's getting older but another 2 years of elite play is not out of the question. 3) They might trade Kevin Love, who isn't a great fit, for a major upgrade.
surely everyone thought gsw would repeat.. each season is different. we have no idea what teams will add new players and whether cavs will stay injury free. what if OKC gets better..or spurs...or some other random team.
#1) Kyrie Irving is only 24 and just now barely entering his prime. He was the 2nd best player in the finals over Curry, Klay, Green. Can't really ask for a better Robin right now.
No clear favorites going into next year. Going to be a dog fight. Cavs, Warriors, Spurs, OKC are the big threats again (assuming KD stays).
This. Somehow, despite how discombobulated as the Rockets have been, if they somehow made it to the Finals, even with Bickerstaff coaching, they'd beat the Cavs. Something about the Rox current personnel would frustrate and have an advantage over the Cavs.
