X Factor For Both Team's Heading Into The NBA

X Factor for Both Team’s Heading into the Finals We are less than two days away from Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors for the third straight year. With the addition of Kevin Durant, the Warriors have a better shot of dethroning the defending champions despite finishing with a worse record than the previous year. Leading into these finals, most of the chatter has been surrounding LeBron’s legacy and Durant’s need to finally win a championship, but there are still other aspects of this series that need to be discussed for either team to secure a win for their second title in three years. It is obvious that this series will be highlighted by the matchups of LeBron James and Kevin Durant as well as point guards Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry. If we cancel out the play of these four superstars, we must find someone else to be the X factor in this series for both teams. Cleveland

Thompson has proven throughout his young NBA career to be a scrapper down low and fight for every rebound that comes near him whether it is on the offensive or defensive glass. Cleveland went 1-1 during the regular season against Golden State and the major difference between the two games was Cleveland’s ability to grab offensive rebounds. In the win, Cleveland accumulated 18 total offensive boards, six of which were from Thompson. In the loss, they only grabbed six offensive rebounds in what was a 35-point loss. One of Golden State’s weaknesses is their size disadvantage down low. If Thompson can solidify his position underneath the basket for the Cavaliers, the Warriors may be in some early trouble in this