Capsule preview for the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors:
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NBA FINALS
No. 4 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (50-32
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Season series: Warriors, 2-0.
Story line: The fourth consecutive Cavaliers-Warriors matchup in the NBA Finals, the eighth straight trip to the title series for Cleveland star LeBron
James, and once again it’s Golden State that arrives as the overwhelming
favorite. Both teams needed to survive Game 7s on the road to win their
conference championships, winning those clinchers in shorthanded fashion – no
Andre Iguodala for Golden State, no Kevin Love for Cleveland. James will either
become the 39th player with four NBA championships, or the third to lose the
title series six times.
How They Got Here: Cleveland beat No. 5 Indiana 4-3, No. 1 Toronto 4-0 and No. 2 Boston 4-3 for the Eastern Conference title. Golden State beat No. 7 San
Antonio 4-1, No. 6 New Orleans 4-1 and No. 1 Houston 4-3 for the Western
Conference title.
Key Matchup: Golden State’s Klay Thompson vs. Cleveland’s J.R. Smith. It’s safe to expect James
Womens Roquan Smith Jersey , Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to be spectacular in this series. The Warriors have more firepower than the Cavs, but they’re only
great when firing on all cylinders. Smith needs to take every last bit of
available space away from the ultra-quick-releasing Thompson and not let him get
shots off. Should he succeed, that’s a big edge for the Cavs.
How the Cavaliers can win: James being spectacular is a prerequisite, and Cleveland needs to bring the same defensive effort that carried the Cavs in the
Game 7 win at Boston. From there, Cleveland needs to do what Houston did against
Golden State – force turnovers and attack the offensive glass.
How the Warriors can win: Take care of the basketball. Do that, and they will be fine. Don’t do that, and they’re asking for trouble.
Prediction: Warriors in 5.
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Compiled by AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds
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Shane Ray is aiming to keep both his weight and his spirits up as he heads into a fourth surgery on his troublesome left wrist.
”I ain’t been getting down about it. I just need to get it fixed so I can play and be 100” percent, Ray said Tuesday after watching his team’s first
minicamp practice.
Ray said he’s optimistic he won’t lose as much weight or strength as he did last year, when he dropped 17 pounds and essentially played one-handed for half
the season before opting for a third operation in December so that he could get
a jumpstart on his offseason rehab.
Ray dropped to 225 pounds last season, when he posted just 15 tackles and a single sack a year after collecting 48 tackles and eight sacks.
”I’ve already gotten myself up to 247
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to be sidelined as long as I was last year.”
Ray is also switching doctors for Thursday’s operation in Houston. He hopes to return to practice by mid-August and play in the season opener against
Seattle on Sept. 9.
Ray broke his left wrist at the start of training camp last year when he got tangled up with offensive lineman Menelik Watson. After surgery to repair both
bones and ligaments, he missed the first six games and the final two.
With a jumpstart on his rehab, ”I thought I was out in the clear” by the start of the offseason program two months ago, Ray said. ”But I’d wake up every
day and I’m like, `Man, my wrist is still hurting.”’
The soreness didn’t subside and swelling appeared, so he sought medical advice last week when doctors discovered an unhealed, fractured bone and
recommended yet another operation.
”It’s frustrating but all I can do is try to keep a positive mind
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my team.”
The setback is bad timing for Ray, whose fifth-year option the Broncos declined to exercise last month, denying him a $9.23 million guaranteed salary
in 2019. That would have surpassed the four-year, $9.18 million rookie contract
he signed in 2015 after winning SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors at
Missouri.
Moreover, the Broncos selected North Carolina State pass rusher Bradley Chubb with the fifth pick in this year’s draft. Chubb lined up opposite Von Miller as
both a down lineman in a 4-3 scheme and stand-up rusher in the 3-4 Tuesday.
Being sidelined for two to three months heading into a contract year isn’t ideal, but ”I can’t let that stress me out,” Ray said.
”Of course, everybody knows this is my contract year, but most importantly, I can’t go ensure my next contract if I’m not healthy. I don’t want to go out
there like I did last year and try to force something and put bad film out there
and let that be the judge of who I am as a player. Because a lot of that
happened
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”With the injury, I should have sat down. I went out and played. It wasn’t good as it should have been obviously because of the injury. And I feel like a
lot of people tried to use that against me. So, this time I’m going to be smart.
I’m going to do the best thing for me, which is to make sure I’m 100 percent
healthy. And then once I’m 100 percent healthy, I’ll be able to be out here and
be the player that my coaches and my teammates know I am.”
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