Thomas Muzekari and Vince Vetrano
The Cleveland Cavaliers (19-8) will travel to Oakland, Calif. for a Christmas Day Finals rematch with the Golden State Warriors (22-6) on Dec. 25.
The last time these two teams met was last June in their third straight Finals meeting. The teams had split the previous two championships, but last year the Warriors came out on top, largely due to the addition of Kevin Durant, who was Finals MVP. Lebron James became the first player to average a triple-double in a Finals series, but it wasn’t enough, as the Cavs lost in five games.
Golden State has the second best record in the Western Conference, only behind the Houston Rockets (21-4). The Warriors have four all-stars on the court from last year’s championship team. They are led by Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, who are both averaging over 25 points per game. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are the other two all-stars on the court for the Warriors. Green leads the team with 7.2 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, while Thompson is averaging the third-most points on the team with 20.7 a game.
Cleveland, meanwhile, has the second best record in the Eastern Conference right behind the Boston Celtics (23-6). Kyrie Irving, who was the Cavs all-star starting point guard, left last summer to join the Celtics after requesting a trade. The Cavs did get an all-star point guard in return, though, Isaiah Thomas, and also another key player in Jae Crowder. Thomas has not played yet this year due to a hip injury. The team also signed Dwyane Wade last summer from the Chicago Bulls. Wade, a 12-time all-star, has reunited with his long-time friend James, who he won two championships with in Miami back in 2012 and 2013. Lebron James is the leading scorer for the Cavs with 28.3 points per game; he is also averaging 8.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists.
The game-time for this Finals rematch between these two powerhouse teams is 3:00 pm. It will be live on ABC.
