[Wolverine Studios] We Simmed It – Finals : Golden State vs Cleveland

[GM Games 252]

REMATCH! Last year’s finals left plenty of questions. How good was Golden State really? What if Kyrie Irving didn’t get hurt? Golden State defended their title by winning more games than any other team in history proving they were not only worthy champions but among the best teams of all time and Cleveland comes into this series healthy and well rested after not really being challenged so far while Golden State comes in after a brutal seven game dogfight.

If you recall we simulated the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals with Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2016 correctly predicting both of those series results so now we put it to the ultimate test. The Finals. Which team will prevail? Let’s get it on and find out!

 

GAME 1

The opening salvo begins with a flurry by Golden State as they race out to a 28-18 1^st quarter lead led by Draymond Green who scores 13 of the 28 and picks up 3 steals in the frame. Kevin Love is not known for his defense and that clearly was an issue to start. Things spiraled out of control from there with Golden State taking a 57-33 lead into the half.

Draymond Green goes nuts in the 1st quarter

LeBron tries to keep Cleveland in it but the poor defense from his teammates is too much to overcome and his line of 18/9/8 is an afterthought in this blowout as Cleveland shoots 9/31 from deep. Green leads the way for Golden State with 21/12, 4 blocks and 3 steals while the splash brothers combine for 40.

Green swats LeBron as part of a dominant performance

 

 

GAME 2 (GST leads 1-0)

Game 2 starts with a determined Cleveland team, especially Kevin Love trying to make up for the poor game 1 performance. Love scores 8 with 5 boards in the 1^st but again the Cleveland defense fails to show as Golden State scores 30.

Kevin Love with a much better performance early on to keep it close

Cleveland would cut it to three in the 2^nd but turnovers would lead to back to back Curry baskets on the way to an 11-0 run.  Down 7 at the break Cleveland comes out in the 3^rd looking to hang close but Curry has none of it and rattles off 8 quick points. Cleveland tries everything they can to slow down the offense, even mixing in zone on two possessions but its to no avail as Golden State takes a 15 point lead into the 4^th.

Curry with the tough shot over Thompson and James

Spurred on after a technical on Coach Lue, Cleveland starts making its run but Klay Thompson hits a big three to put the game safely away.

Thompson puts the game out of reach

Curry goes for 36 on 11-for-16 shooting. Green impressive again with a line of 25/6/6. Love started out hot shooting 3-for-3 but would go 1-for-6 the rest of the way and play lousy defense again as the series shifts to Cleveland.

 

 

GAME 3 (GST leads 2-0)

A must win game now for Cleveland to remain in this series. Cleveland finally figures out who can guard Draymond Green and it’s the officials as they whistle both him and Bogut for two quick fouls. With some important defensive anchors on the pine LeBron goes to work scoring 11 of Cleveland’s first 15 points and getting 16 in all in the opening quarter.

James in beast mode with 11 of the 1st 15 Cleveland points

James seemed to defer to his teammates early in this series trying to get them going but he’s a one man wrecking crew here. James nets 20 points by the half and a 52-36 lead while Curry and Thompson combine for 4-of-13 shooting in the first half. Cleveland would only miss two free throws on the night and despite a +11 4^th quarter for Golden State it was too much LeBron as he goes for 35 with 11 rebounds and 4 steals.

LeBron would be a perfect 7-for-7 from the line tonight

James scores 35 and could not be stopped the entire game

Cleveland also shoots 8/19 from three compared to 6/26 from Golden State. Green only contributes 12 points and 5 fouls and it looks like if Cleveland wants to win they’re going to have to rely heavily on James to come up huge in points and either find some other way to defend Green than with Love or continue to attack him trying to get him in foul trouble and out of the game.

 

GAME 4 (GST leads 2-1)

Golden State comes out with a clear game plan – get Curry cooking and let anyone but LeBron beat them. Curry comes out blistering hot hitting on all 8 of his first attempts and piling up 23 points in the first half.

Curry comes out on fire

Despite that offensive barrage Cleveland remains only down 9 at the half. Golden State has chosen to double team James heavily this game and teammates Love, Irving, Smith and Dellavedova have answered the bell to keep the game close.

Smith with the slam on the break to cut the lead down

Cleveland tries to grind the game to a halt in the 3^rd. They cut the lead to five but a Curry triple puts it back to eight instantly. This cycle repeats itself twice more with Cleveland getting it to one or two possessions immediately followed by Green and Iguodala threes. With six minutes to go Cleveland has it down to three again but back to back steals and fast break buckets end their chances of a comeback.

Barnes takes a bad pass coast to coast for the jam

Next possession, same result as Curry swipes one and takes it himelf

Curry puts on a MVP like show with 39 points on 14-of-18 shooting while Draymond pitches in 21 again for the second time this series. Love tried to make up for it on the offensive end with 23 of his own but James could only muster 14 points while being hounded relentlessly all game by Iguodala, Green and double teams.

 

GAME 5 (GST leads 3-1)

After delivering a crushing home loss to Cleveland in game 4 Golden State had an opportunity to finish it off at home and finish it they do. Curry comes out red hot again on his way to 39 points. Cleveland is just never allowed to get into the game despite Draymond Green finally struggling along to a 7 point game. Thompson, Iggy and Livingston all combine for 38 points and even Varejao gets in on the scoring against his old team at the end. For Cleveland they manage to free James offensively better as he’s able to get 20 shots off for 24 points but everyone else is a non-factor and Golden State repeats as champs.

Iguodala adds some offense to go with his stellar series defense

Varejao gets the last laugh with a bucket in the finals

 

 

SERIES OBSERVATIONS

At first I was a little surprised by the result. I thought this one would go six like it did last season and I was also surprised that Kyrie Irving was of very little impact in the series. Looking back at the two regular season matchups though Golden State won both of them (one by 34 points) and Irving didn’t play well in either of those games.  One player who did have big games in those meetings was Draymond Green and that seemed to hold up in this simulation as well.

With Cleveland being the underdog here if they want any shot at winning it all I think this simulation shows three things that need to happen. 1) James has to be in beast mode full time. I think he has to attack the basket on every possession either for his own shot or a teammate. 2) Teammates have to make shots. Irving, Love and Smith are going to have to knock down the open looks James creates. 3) They must contain Draymond Green. It is next to impossible to try and stop Curry – maybe you can prevent him from dropping 35 on you – but they have to figure out some way to deal with Green. Can Thompson and/or Frye do a better job defending him than Love did in this simulation? Do you put James on him and put Love on Iggy or Barnes and run the risk of Green taking any liberties with James? Curry won’t score enough on his own to beat you but if Green, Klay and company are getting their points its awfully tough to outscore Golden State especially when Cleveland operates better it seems at a slower pace.

 

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