There wasn’t another incredible comeback in the cards for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they fell in five games in the 2017 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors Monday night in Oakland.
The Finals loss isn’t a huge surprise — the Warriors were prohibitive favorites going into the series — but it did highlight the gap between an elite team with the best player in the world and the Warriors.
While the Cavs are the class of the Eastern Conference and are highly likely to enter the 2017-18 season with that distinction again, the Warriors should maintain their four-All-Star core through their primes — if Cleveland is to avenge this loss at this time next year, it will have to have made significant offseason upgrades or start praying for injuries.