How the Warriors can repeat as NBA champions

11:32 AM ET

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives the Golden State Warriors a 75 percent chance to repeat as NBA champions. However, they just escaped a tough seven-game series with the Oklahoma City Thunder and now have to refocus on a Cleveland Cavaliers team that seems to be playing its best basketball.

The toughest matchup for the Warriors, as is the case for any team, is dealing with LeBron James. Last season, Andre Iguodala earned Finals MVP honors in large part for how he guarded James.

When Iguodala was matched up with James, the Cavs scored 100 points per 100 possessions. When Harrison Barnes — the only other Warrior to guard James on at least 50 possessions during the Finals — drew the assignment, the Cavaliers scored 115 points per 100 possessions. Add in all of the regular-season matchups over the past two seasons, and Iguodala has had the best success in the league in guarding James.

In order to fully capitalize on this matchup, the Warriors need to recognize how the Cavs’ offense runs. Cleveland runs isolation on 12 percent of its possessions, the third-highest rate in the league, and James drives on 15.4 percent of his possessions and scores 1.0 points per …

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