NBA Finals 2016: Predicting the Title Series Before Thunder vs. Warriors Game 7

The NBA Finals-bound Cleveland Cavaliers await the predictably competitive Western Conference Finals Game 7 showdown between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers ran roughshod through the Eastern Conference, needing just 14 games to best a lineup of teams that really never stood a chance.

As most anyone with a fundamental knowledge of the NBA could have predicted, it’s been a much different story for the two gridlocked teams out west before they head into Game 7 on Monday night.

The disparity in paths traveled has Las Vegas thinking about the Cavaliers as a close second behind the Warriors when it comes to future champions, according to Odds Shark:

And why not?

Cleveland gets the benefit of extra rest while the Thunder and Warriors dance. Not that the team seems like it needs any. The Big Three is very much alive and well in Cleveland, unlike last year when Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving dealt with injuries and Cavaliers fans had flashbacks to before James left for the first time.

This time around, the Cavaliers are at full strength.

Round 1 was a dismissal of the up-and-coming Detroit Pistons—James was the game’s leading scorer just once in four games, with the other three going to Irving.

Round 2 was a blowout of the Atlanta Hawks where James was the leading scorer just once again. He wasn’t a leading scorer at all over the six games it took to best the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The biggest question is which team has to deal with the now-healthy Cavaliers.

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