The Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers battled in one of the best rivalries in NBA history, playing in five straight NBA Finals. But before their first matchup in 2015, the Cavaliers preferred Golden State Warriors over the Houston Rockets, thinking the Rockets would be tougher matchup, according to former Cavs big man Kendrick Perkins.
"When we was watching the Western Conference finals, I was like, 'Man, I want to play the Rockets,' " Perkins told the Runnin' Plays Podcast. " 'I think we'll sweep the Rockets. I really don't want to play Golden State.'
"But everyone in the Cavs organization kept saying, 'No, we want Golden State.' And I kept saying, 'Nah, there's something about this team, man. I'm telling y'all, I don't really want to play them.' "
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At the time, the Warriors, led by Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, handily beat the James Harden-led Houston Rockets in the Western Conference finals in five games. During the season, the Warriors won 67 games as Curry earned his first of two MVPs. Meanwhile Curry and Thompson were forming one of the best backcourts in league history, gaining Perkins' respect along the way.
"I was just like, 'Ah man, I don't really know about facing them,' " Perkins said. "I'm looking at Steph and Klay, those two guys that's capable of going for 50-plus a night. You don't want to play those type of guys. And I just was like, 'Man, I don't know.' But everyone's like, 'Nah we want to see team.' "
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Perkins' worst fears were realized during the series. Despite LeBron James averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists, the Cavs succumbed to the Warriors in six games, even after taking a two-games-to-one lead in the series, failing to overcome injuries to All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
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Along the way, Andre Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists, winning Finals MVP, despite the Cavs not paying him much mind while scouting the Dubs.
"To y'all credit, Andre Iguodala, he stepped up," Perkins said. "Because we disrespected him. People don't understand. In the game plan, we disrespected him. We were told not to challenge his shots. Like let him shoot, let him have it his way. And he stepped up, and all of a sudden the rest is history."
In all, Perkins said the biggest reason for Golden State's run was the team's nucleus.
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"You can tell when a team is a real family," Perkins said. "That first championship, you could tell guys were a unit. You could see it. From the outside looking in, I knew that when they went to dinner, outside the basketball court, everybody went to dinner together.
"Those guys fooled with each other off the court."