By MYLES VALENTINE

This year there was a lot of hype coming into the NBA Finals because of the stellar performances we all witnessed last season.

So, for anybody who knew what was going on in the NBA has assumed and hoped that Golden State and Cleveland would end up in a heated Battle Royale rematch.

The only real health concern on either side is on the Warriors coaching staff, and I guess we will ultimately see how much Steve Kerr’s absence plays a part. And Kerr, let me tell you, man, that as a person who has had a hamstring surgery and dealt with the nerve pain and shooting discomfort and all of that, I FEEL your pain and don’t blame you a bit for missing time.

My only suggestion would be to invest in some posture helpers and additional pillows for yourself if you do in fact make a return. I’m 100 percent positive an NBA team and their resources can come up with some sort of device to assist your pain while sitting on the bench.

My pick:

The Warriors. Klay, Draymond, Steph, and Kevin are simply too talented and too rested to lose this series. Way back in the day, I used to think that teams that shot a ton of threes were vulnerable in a series because the shooters could get cold and the percentages weren’t high and every other traditional basketball thought they teach you as a kid about layups over jumpers. Wellllll, the reality is that Durant, Thompson and Curry are such incredible shooting talents that they simply don’t really get that cold, and the odds of all of them being off are legitimately LONG. They play defense, they have simply stormed through the playoffs and they are HUNGRY to redeem themselves from last year.