PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are on a collision course to battle it out for the 2015 NBA Championship. 

Both are leading 3-0 in their Conference Finals matchups and both are led by exceptional leaders, Stephen Curry and LeBron James.

In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, Curry, the reigning MVP, put on a show for the ages scoring 40 points on only 19 shots while making 7 of 9 three-pointers on his way to a 115-80 rout of the Houston Rockets on their home floor, squelching any hopes of a comeback in this series similar to what Houston surprisingly did to the Los Angeles Clippers in the previous round.

In the first two games of the series, Houston kept the score close by making runs in the fourth quarter after falling behind but the Warriors have NEVER lost this season after building a 15-point lead!

The turning point for Golden State in these playoffs was Game 4 in Memphis in the previous round when the Warriors were down 2-1. With a loss they would have gone down 3-1 putting themselves in a very precarious situation. The Memphis Grizzlies had won two games with their grind-it-out style, slowing the tempo, keeping the score down while harrassing the "Splash Brothers" into inhabitually poor shooting percentages.

This is when Steve Kerr and his staff regrouped and came back with a small ball plan of switching on defense and doubling down on Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph inside. With a renewed committment to agressive defense by the whole team and a hamstring injury to Grizzlies defensive ace Tony Allen which liberated Curry and Klay Thompson somewhat, the Warriors won three in a row and never looked back, profitting from Memphis's lack of outside shooting. The multiple strategic possibilities of a player like Draymond Green who can defend all positions and switch with anyone, make open threes AND find Curry for open shots, were decisive.

The Warriors had swept the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round by essentially outscoring them but against the Grizzlies they needed to get back to playing the defense that Kerr preaches and permitted a club record 67 wins in the regular season.

Curry is proving more and more in each game in his duel with James Harden that he deserves his MVP trophy. He gets more consistent help from his teammates than Harden, who really let the MVP snub get under his skin. The Rockets play a 1980s retro run-and-gun style on offense with a lot of isolation play in the half-court and too often their game boils down to Harden (3 for 16 shooting in Game 3) dribbling around for 15 seconds trying to create something for himself or a teammate (who too often misses).

Harden stacks up the stats but the Warriors stack up the wins by moving themselves and the ball in a modernistic symphony to "pace and space".

Curry is the ultimate finisher, but Green, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut are the ultimate defensive stoppers and helpers who are just as important to Golden State's success. They have it all and have stayed virtually injury-free in these playoffs!

In the East, James is the hobbling leader of a hobbling but gutsy team that leads 3-0 against the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks have had plenty of their own problems with Thabo Sefolosha out, Demarre Carroll, their leading scorer and defensive stopper, bothered by a sprained knee and now Kyle Korver out for the rest of the playoffs.

In Game 3, Al Horford was ejected and LeBron came back from an 0 for 10 start to put up historic numbers while managing multiple booboos, notably to his ankle and knee. He finished in an exhausted state with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists!

Who would have imagined that Cleveland would be up 3-0 without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving? Those mid-season trades to get JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov are looking pretty brillant right now. The Hawks are bricking their threes against Cleveland's gritty defense while LeBron is distributing the caviar to Smith, Shumpert, James Jones and Matthew Dellavedova who are filling it up from long range.

The playoff turning point for the Cavs was Game 4 in Chicago in the Conference Semi-finals when, similar to Golden State in Memphis, Cleveland couldn't let themselves go down 3-1.

LeBron hit the shot heard around the world after overruling his own coach's last play choice. "Just get me ball and get out of the way," he said. Bingo!

In the NBA Finals, Golden State with the homecourt advantage and fewer injuries seem to be the clear favorites but you can't underestimate LeBron's competitive fire during his mission to bring a long-awaited title to his home state. He has more playoff experience and success than the whole Warrior roster put together!

The battle between the two true MVPs, Curry and James, two players who couldn't be more different or more likeable, will be fabulous to watch.

George Eddy

FIBA

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