NBA Finals and NBA Draft analysis

PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - 2016 NBA Finals MVP LeBron James, will never again be labelled a "magnificent loser" because of having lost four times in the NBA Finals during his career.

From now on he will be remembered as the hero that brought a title back to the city of Cleveland after a 52-year drought, by beating the best NBA regular season team of all-time and leading the Finals in every major statistical category, which has never been done before! All of this added up to the greatest comeback in the history of the Finals because, prior to this year's Finals, 32 teams out of 32 who had fallen behind 3-1 in the series went on to lose. That is until the Cavs won three in a row over a shell-shocked Golden State Warriors team.

Oddly enough, after six games, the two teams had scored exactly the same number of points even though all the games were decided by 10 points or more!

After numerous blowouts, Game 7 was so close that it became suffocating as the two team were tied at 89-89 with one minute to go. The two defenses had given it their all, it became impossible to score and all the players seemed on their knees with fatigue. This is when LeBron swooped in for the blocked shot of the century on an André Iguodala lay-up with about one-tenth of a second to spare before the ball hit the glass! Then, Kyrie Irving, MVP of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, hit the three-point shot heard round the world over Stephen Curry's outstretched hand to conclude one of the biggest upsets in basketball history!

This was symbolic of Irving outplaying Curry in those last three games, perfectly playing the role of LeBron's high-scoring sidekick, especially when Cleveland really needed points. Irving will now go on to lead Team USA with Kevin Durant at the Rio Olympics in the absence of James and Curry.

LeBron did everything and was everywhere but his teammates really locked in on defense and rebounding as this fabulous Game 7 can attest to. Cavs head coach Tyrone Lue coached James harder than David Blatt did, telling LeBron to stop grimacing when a teammate made a bad play. He got everyone on the same page and made key adjustments in Games 5 through 7, reducing and changing his rotations. The ultra-physical defense of James, Irving, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith on Curry and Klay Thompson did the rest!

As Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and Curry said after the disappointing finish, Golden State were very close to winning it all, two key plays made the difference and the Warriors will come back stronger and smarter for it next season. There will not be the accumulated fatigue of chasing an historic record and hopefully, there will not be the nagging injuries to key players like Curry and Iguodala or the absence of an under-estimated key cog in Andrew Bogut. Look for Kerr to manage playing time the same way Gregg Popovich does, next season, in order to have everyone at their physical peak for the playoffs.

Golden State are also looking to make some noise in the free agent market in early July. Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki and Nicolas Batum are some of the prestigious targets according to the rumor mill and if that doesn't pan out they can sign back Harrrison Barnes despite his poor shooting at the worst time in the last three games.

At the same time, the Oklahoma City Thunder made a major trade to try and convince Durant to, at least, sign a two-year deal, by sending Serge Ibaka to Orlando for Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilyasova, two players that could reinforce their chances of a making a title run next season. If Durant chooses the Warriors, a dynasty would be in the making, but I see him giving his buddy Russell Westbrook and the Thunder another chance at the title.

As usual, the NBA Draft didn't really concern the best teams that much since they generally draft so late with the notable exception being the Boston Celtics. On the other hand, the lowly teams drafted some hope for the future. Eight of the top 16 players were born on foreign soil, and Ben Simmons followed in the footsteps of Bogut as a number one overall pick from Australia.

Simmons has all-around talent similar to LeBron and the Philadelphia 76ers will finally be able to stop tanking and try and rebuild a winner around all their youthful prospects! Dragan Bender, the fourth pick by the Milwaukee Bucks and Thon Maker, selected 10th by the Phoenix Suns, are intriguing candidates to, one day, become the new Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian is one of the rare rookies - along with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns - to have had an immediate impact on the NBA these last two seasons. Simmons and Brandon Ingram seem to have the same potential for next season.

Now we just have to wait a few days and the teams can start seducing the free agents. The Ibaka and Derrick Rose trades have launched the hostilities and I am curious to see where the likes of Jamal Crawford, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol (San Antonio Spurs?) and Joakim Noah (New York Knicks?) will end up. Let the negotiations begin!

George Eddy

FIBA

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