At long last, the NBA Finals are here.
Following an eight-day layoff, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in Oakland to tip off against the juggernaut Golden State Warriors - LeBron James' fifth consecutive finals appearance.
By this point, you've surely studied the matchups, made your picks, made your bets, and there's little that can change your mind at such a late juncture. In case you opted to take the week-plus off from basketball entirely, here's a quick catch-up:
There's plenty more to dive into, but those links should have you in good shape as you get set to banter your way through the next two weeks.
As for Thursday, can we all just collectively sigh for a moment? A sigh of relief, of course. Basketball is back, our last vestige of actual hoops for months, unless you're hardcore enough to dabble in Summer Leagues or FIBA tournaments. And it should be a really, really fun series.
It's one of the best teams the league has seen in years pitted against the best player of the last decade. It's Goliath using David strategies to try to run another Goliath off the floor. It's the current MVP against a four-time MVP. It's E-40 against Kid Cudi. It's finally time.
Here are Thursday's projected starting lineups:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
| Position | Cavaliers | Warriors |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Kyrie Irving | Stephen Curry |
| SG | Iman Shumpert | Klay Thompson |
| SF | LeBron James | Harrison Barnes |
| PF | Tristan Thompson | Draymond Green |
| C | Timofey Mozgov | Andrew Bogut |
Cavaliers PG Kyrie Irving (knee) to will himself to play
Cavaliers PF Kevin Love (shoulder), C Anderson Varejao (Achilles) out for the season
Warriors SG Klay Thompson (concussion) will play
Warriors PF Marreese Speights (calf) will play
