The 2018 conference finals will both end in Game 7s, something that hasn’t happened in the NBA since 1979. For a season fraught with questions about parity and predestination, this is an incredible outcome for us basketball fans at home.
The NBA Finals comes down to 2 Game 7s. That hasn’t happened in 39 years.
We get TWO win-or-go-home games over the next two days, and that will determine legacies.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
In 1979, the three-point line was still a season away from being introduced, the league had only merged with the ABA three years prior, and the Seattle Supersonics were still a dominant franchise. In fact, Seattle beat the Phoenix Suns in a Western Conference Finals Game 7, while the Washington Bullets knocked off the San Antonio Spurs in the East. (That was San Antonio’s conference back then.)
Almost four decades have passed, and so much has changed, but here we are yet again.
LeBron James’ elimination dominance vs. Boston’s home record
Is anyone picking against James, indisputably the best player of his generation, in a win-or-go-home game against a team missing two huge stars? It would be hard, but Boston has home court advantage, where they are 11-0 this postseason.
James’ elimination game statistics are something else, though. He averages 34.1 points per game, more than any other player who has played at least five such games. In his last seven elimination games, he either has scored 40-plus points or recorded a triple-double. Those are absurd statistics.
Still, James could score 80 points and it won’t be enough if he doesn’t get a minimal amount of help. His Cleveland teammates have been much, much worse on the road, and Kevin Love has already been ruled out with a concussion, a tragic absence for both the Cavaliers and for Love himself.
Boston has proved everybody wrong this entire postseason. James is the best player ever — suck it, Jordan stans — and it still might not be enough.
Don’t miss it: Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Golden State’s resurgence vs. Houston’s resiliency
We thought the Rockets were dead after Game 1, and after Game 3, and in Game 4 when Golden State exploded in the fourth quarter. (OK, not everyone believed this, but it was a common narrative each time.) Houston remains alive anyway. They led by 10 points at halftime of Game 6 before things fell apart against a red-hot Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who had 14 three-pointers combined.
(Thompson going off in a Western Conference Finals Game 6? Who could have predicted that!?)
There are two enormous injuries to watch: Houston desperately Chris Paul back, who hurt his hamstring on one of the final plays of Game 5, while the Warriors are hopeful Andre Iguodala can return. Both their availabilities will be massive swings one way or another.
Especially after running away in the second half of Game 6, can anyone pick against Golden State? Their offense finally looked sharp again, with their signature off-ball movement occupying so much of Houston’s attention. Even if much of it was mitigated by the Rockets’ switch-everything philosophy, it did take away some of Houston’s excellent help defense. P.J. Tucker has been a defensive monster in this series, but he can’t rotate if he’s accounting for movement in the opposite corner.
The Rockets, meanwhile, just need 48 minutes where their shots fall and their defense bothers Golden State enough. Do that, and they could be Finals bound for the first time since the Hakeem Olajuwon days. Having an effective Paul would do wonders for that, and home court advantage helps. They spent all season building towards this moment — here is their chance.
Don’t miss it: Monday, 9 p.m. ET, TNT
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