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Finally! Warriors, Cavs ready for Game 1 of NBA Finals

Jun 4, 2015 - 1:32 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The NBA Finals are finally upon us Thursday night when the Golden State Warriors host the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena for Game 1.

The two biggest stars of the sport will be showcased on the league's grandest stage.

LeBron James is LeBron James. He is appearing in his fifth consecutive NBA Finals after four straight in Miami, a run which yielded two titles. Five straight championship appearances is something that hasn't been done since the Celtics of Bill Russell.

Steph Curry is the reigning MVP. He earned the association's highest individual honor and, through State Farm and his daughter Riley, has become one of the darlings of the sport.

These two teams had a relatively easy time reaching the championship round. The Warriors, who matched the sixth-best regular-season win total in league history, swept Round 1 versus the New Orleans Pelicans, needed six games to dispatch the Memphis Grizzlies and five in the Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets.

The Cavs went through less stress in the postseason. They swept the Boston Celtics, beat the Chicago Bulls in six, then swept the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

That has led to a week between the completion of the conference finals and the NBA Finals.

"This week is weird because you're just kind of sitting and waiting," Curry said on Monday. "You know you're one of two teams left, but until you get into the arena and get those jitters out, I don't think it will hit yet."

For James, this run to the Finals might have been more than he expected when he returned to Cleveland. He came back hoping to bring his city its first major sporting league championship since the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship, not the Super Bowl, in 1964.

"I understand the drought our city has been in as far as a major championship, so it's a huge motivation inside of me," James said on Wednesday. "And it's helped me get to this point, but I'm not done. I've still got a lot left in me in this season, and I'm going to command a lot out of my guys. I'm going to command a lot out of myself, and hopefully we're able to come through."

No one may have liked this much time off, but neither team could deny they needed it.

Golden State's Klay Thompson suffered a nasty concussion in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals when Houston's Trevor Ariza bit on a fake and kneed Thompson in the side of the head.

The Warriors announced a few days later that Thompson had suffered a concussion. Thompson has been cleared to play in Game 1.

"I was confident I was going to play," Thompson said Wednesday. "I knew I had to pass protocol, but I've been hit in the head before, and, honestly, I felt really good the second day. I had some nagging headaches that night, but when I got some good sleep and some good rest I was all right. So I really knew that Game 1 was never in jeopardy."

The Cavs' training staff has been popular as well. Kyrie Irving missed two games versus Atlanta with knee and leg ailments. He feels all right, and will play Thursday night.

"Whatever he can give us, it's going to be great for our team," James said of Irving. "Kyrie at 50, Kyrie at 60, Kyrie at 70 is better than Kyrie at zero."

James and James Jones have been to the Finals quite a bit. Mike Miller, Shawn Marion and Kendrick Perkins all have championship experience. Even Brendan Haywood made a Finals appearance.

The Warriors don't have a single player on the roster who has been in the title round. The person with the most Finals experience involved with Golden State is head coach Steve Kerr, who won five titles in his playing career with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.

"It is different," Kerr said. "The game is the same, but everything surrounding the game is totally different from even the conference finals, and that's the biggest adjustment."

This series features two rookie head coaches, which is a first since the very first NBA Championship.

The teams split two matchups this season along home boundaries. The Warriors are 7-2 in their last nine against the Cavs, who are 1-3 in their last four at Oracle Arena.

Game 2 will be Sunday.