The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors made history by meeting in the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year. But this time around, the two teams boast the most-talented rosters since the league adopted the three-point line for the 1979-80 season.
[Kevin Durant has been losing to LeBron James his entire career. That might be about to change.]
There is no perfect way to define or quantify collective talent, but according to Dean Oliver’s Four Factors of basketball success, shooting, as expressed by effective field goal percentage, is the most important skill a basketball team can possess. And the Warriors and Cavaliers ranked No. 1 and No. 2 during the regular season with effective field goal percentages of 56.3 and 54.7 percent, respectively — significantly higher than the league average (51.4 percent) and the highest total eFG% among teams making the Finals since 1980.
Before the third meeting between these two clubs, another LeBron James-led squad, the 2014 Miami Heat (55.4 eFG%), combined with the San Antonio Spurs (53.7 eFG%) to give us the best shooting teams ever in the Finals. The third-most talented teams were the Warriors and Cavaliers from last year’s playoffs.
James, of course, is in his seventh consecutive Finals, and, according to John Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Rating, was the sixth-best player during the regular season (27.0 PER), high enough above average (15 PER) to be considered MVP-level performance. Teammates also boasting at least all-star production, based on regular-season performance (PER of 20 or higher), include Kyrie Irving (23.0) and Kevin Love (21.1). On the Warriors, Kevin Durant (27.6), Steph Curry (24.6) and even JaVale McGee (25.2 PER), albeit in a very limited role.
McGee, one of Golden State’s reserves, played just enough to qualify for the scoring title and set career highs in points per possession (1.2), win shares per 48 minutes (.225) and effective field goal percentage (65.2 percent). He is frequently found near the basket, and has converted 32 of his 42 attempts near the rim, often finishing with a flourish.
That gives these NBA Finals six players with PERs in excess of 20, the most over the past 37 years. Even if you aren’t buying into the McGee hype, it’s still the most star power we have seen in a long time.
This season may have been a foregone conclusion from the beginning, and if Game 1 is any indication it might be a shorter-than-expected series, but there is no doubt this is a Finals to be savored. (By Neil Greenberg)
