NBA Finals: Should the Warriors be Worried?

Game 7 of the NBA Finals, should the Golden State Warriors be worried?

An essential element in defeating the champs is to create doubt in their minds. The Cleveland Cavaliers have certainly achieved that after these last two games.

When you’re up 3-1 in a series you expect to win. There’s a reason that no team in Finals history has come back from a 3-1 deficit. But, once you force a game 7, the pressure shifts over to the team that was up 3-1.

All of the pressure is on the Warriors right now. They are the defending champions and they have already lost two straight closeout games. Now they are going home for a do or die game 7. While you’re glad to be at home, there is something about playing at home after giving up a 3-1 lead. The fans will be loud, but all of the energy will fade if the Warriors don’t start out strong. Unlike the previous games played at Oracle Arena, there will be a nervous energy in the air, not a feeling of invincibility.

When you’re on the top of the world, like the Warriors have been for the last two seasons, it’s sometimes hard to handle adversity. They went through the season seemingly without any adversity, at least from an outsider’s perspective. Once you realize that you aren’t invincible, it’s hard to get that feeling back.

Golden State plays with confidence. They act like they’re better than you because they know they’re better than you. But once you’ve been punched in the mouth two straight games, it’s hard to play with that same type of confidence that got them to this point.

Now you hear the Warriors saying that they’re going to play “angry”. Is that something that you really want to do if you’re Golden State? Didn’t they try to do that and fail in game 5? They came out angry in game 5 because they disagreed with the suspension of Draymond Green. They called LeBron out repeatedly. However, they weren’t able to capitalize on playing angry.

The Cavaliers have gotten the Warriors out of their comfort zone. Even though they won three straight elimination games in the Western Conference Finals, they may not have faced as much adversity in that series. Green already missed a game this series and he looked terrible in game 6. Bogut is out for the series. Andre Iguodala hurt his back and looks like he can’t move. And Steph Curry the undisputed MVP hasn’t looked like himself for long stretches. And when he does finally look like himself, he fouls out.

Steve Kerr is also trying any possible rotation to make up for their depleting depth. There is strength in numbers, but I don’t think it was ever part of the plan to have Festus Ezeli, Anderson Varejoa, and James Michael McAdoo playing this meaningful of a role in the Finals. The same problems that plagued the Cavs in last year’s Finals are now hurting the Warriors. Except Golden State isn’t shortening their bench to solve the problem, they’re expanding it.

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I haven’t even mentioned that they’re going up against LeBron James who has been playing on a completely different level the last two games. And Kyrie Irving has outplayed Curry for most of the series as well.

The Warriors are the defending champs. They will be the favorite to win game 7, and rightfully so. There is a real possibility that they win game 7 convincingly and we forget that any of this ever happened. But there is doubt in their minds right now. And doubt can very easily lead to defeat.

We’ll see how the Warriors respond when they’re backs are up against the wall while facing the greatest player of our generation who thrives in game sevens.

Should the Golden State Warriors be worried going into Game 7 of the NBA Finals?