The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors were destined to return to the NBA finals and now it has come to pass.
The Cavaliers and Warriors tip off their third consecutive NBA finals clash in Oakland on Friday and it's the first time in NBA history this has happened.
![Cleveland Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving (2) and Golden State Warriors' Andre Iguodala (9) battle for a loose ball in last ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630095327im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/h/u/f/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwehjz.png/1495895489222.jpg)
For the first time in five years no Australian Boomers players will be in the NBA finals although Australian-born US star Kyrie Irving plays for the Cavaliers.
Former Warriors centre Andrew Bogut would have been playing for the Cavaliers but for a season-ending fractured leg in his first game with Cleveland.
So much of the talk will centre around the battle of the superstars, with shooting sensation Steph Curry leading the Warriors and LeBron James fronting the Cavaliers, although Kevin Durant (Warriors) and Irving could prove just as decisive this series.
Both clubs have won one of their finals meetings so in some corners this series could be viewed as a decider.
But what all NBA fans will hope to see is a long, healthy series where neither side loses a key player, unlike their previous two series where the Cavaliers lost Irving and Kevin Love in 2015 and the Warriors had Bogut injured and Draymond Green suspended for the pivotal game five last year.
ESPN will show each game and NBA League Pass also streams all games.
The two teams
The Warriors have been the best team in the regular season, with Curry, Durant, Klay Thompson and Green all performing at all-star level.
Durant's free-agent move to the Warriors during the off-season and the need to jettison championship winners Harrison Barnes and Bogut to fit his salary put more scrutiny on Golden State but it has mattered not.
Veterans Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, and David West add plenty of experience while combustible Oakland local Matt Barnes, who joined the team late in the season, could be an X-Factor, with his defence and ability to rile up opponents.
The Warriors are the first team in NBA history to sweep their first round, conference semi and conference final series so they have won 12-straight play-off games heading into this series.
James and Irving have been at the forefront of the Cavaliers and despite dropping one game to the Boston Celtics in the conference finals, the Cavaliers enter in strong form and with the look of a team hungry for another title.
James also passed Michael Jordan for the most points in NBA play-off games.
Love, centre Tristan Thompson and their mix of wily veterans JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Deron Williams, Richard Jefferson, Kyle Korver and Channing Frye make a compelling supporting cast and they will need to stand tall.
The Cavaliers have to find a way to slow the Warriors offence and they have to keep getting to the basket and drawing fouls as it will boost their scoring and reduce fast-break chances for Golden State.
If the Cavaliers can't make their shots, the Warriors will feast.
The coaches
Former NBA point guard Tyronn Lue continues to lead the Cavaliers after taking on the team during last season and helping them to the championship.
He has managed the roster well and lets James' dominant personality lead the side on the court.
The Warriors have been without coach Steve Kerr for much of the play-offs as he is slowly recovering from surgery to stop a spinal cord fluid leak – Kerr battled through severe pain for much of the past two years after unsuccessful back surgery before it forced him out.
He has been around the team and spoken to the side during some key play-off games but otherwise former Cavaliers coach Mike Brown has coached the Warriors and they don't appear to have missed a beat.
Brown appears likely to lead the side throughout the NBA finals although Kerr will have a presence too.
Due to the Cavaliers firing him in 2014 with four years and $20 million left on his contract, Brown is reportedly still being paid by Cleveland as he coaches against them.
The weak spot
There is one area which is under strength at both clubs and that is the centre position.
Thompson is a power forward whose elite rebounding and toughness allows him to play centre, while Frye's elite three-point shooting proves a challenge for opponents.
The Warriors have filled Bogut's starting centre role by committee, with Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and, at times, Green playing centre.
McGee has had the most impact, with his athletic 213-centimetre frame used for alley-oop dunks and blocks during short bursts on the court, while Pachulia screens and moves well within the team's offence.
Neither side has a dominant player in this position so whoever has most impact could swing the series.
Random fact
The Warriors have home-court advantage for this series so will host the pivotal game-five and game-seven meetings in Oakland but the last two championships have been won on opposition home courts. The Warriors claimed their title in Cleveland in 2015, the Cavaliers won game seven in Oakland last year.
A prediction
The Warriors will win the series 4-3, with Draymond Green the finals MVP. If the Cavaliers win, it will be Kyrie Irving who claims that honour.
NBA Finals 2017
Game 1 Cleveland at Golden State, Friday, 11am [AEST]
Game 2 Cleveland at Golden State, Monday, June 5, 10am
Game 3 Golden State at Cleveland, Thursday, June 8, 11am
Game 4 Golden State at Cleveland, Saturday, June 10, 11am
*Game 5 Cleveland at Golden State, Tuesday, June 13, 11am
*Game 6 Golden State at Cleveland, Friday, June 16, 11am
*Game 7 Cleveland at Golden State, Monday, June 19, 10am
*= if required
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