King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers: Why I’m not afraid of the Golden State Warriors

By Kyle Stuver

BOSTON, MA - MAY 15: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts after being hit in the face in the first half against the Boston Celtics during Game Two of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 15, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. 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. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 15: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts after being hit in the face in the first half against the Boston Celtics during Game Two of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 15, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. 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. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 25: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors defends against LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the game between the two teams on December 25, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 25: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors defends against LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the game between the two teams on December 25, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Reason No. 2: This Warriors team is worse than last year’s

This reasoning is based on the fact that Andre Iguodala is dealing with a knee injury. He’s been a critical part of their team structure this season.

Without Iggy, or even with him hampered, the Warriors bench is worse than it was during last year’s title run.

David West and Pachulia appear to be toast, JaVale is as inconsistent as ever, and Patrick McCaw is still working his way back from that terrible fall in February. Jordan Bell and Quinn Cook have been up and down, but both have very little playoff experience under their belts.

That leaves the Warriors with Shaun Livingston and Nick Young as their go-to bench players. Say what you want about the Cavaliers bench, but it may actually not be a huge comparative weakness in this series.

Now, if Iguodala somehow finds his way back to 100% early in this series, I want a do-over on this paragraph.