https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43338041/takeaways-cavaliers-thunder-game-year-nba
Was this a Finals preview?
Bontemps: It might be -- which is something I likely wouldn't have said 24 hours ago. Cleveland showed a ton in this game. Mobley showed he's an All-Star lock. The Cavaliers took every punch from the Thunder and threw a stronger one back. The result was a 32nd win in 36 games. I wrote about the comparisons between this team and the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors ahead of Wednesday. Those Warriors came out of nowhere, were doubted throughout that season and eventually won a title. I won't say Cleveland will do that right now, but I will say the Cavaliers are good enough to make it to June.
Pelton: I'd still bet against it at even odds. Projections using ESPN's Basketball Power Index give these teams the two best chances of making the Finals and yet still show this specific matchup happening just 35% of the time. I'd pick the Boston Celtics over the Cavaliers to win the East. Although the Thunder are the clear favorite in the West, there's plenty that can happen to change that between now and late May.
Windhorst: I'm not saying a bad word about either of these teams out of respect after watching that display. I'm also not predicting the Finals in January. But I will give them this: There has been more than one championship team I've seen over the past two decades that wouldn't beat these two.