NBA Finals: Warriors, Cavaliers chasing history

King James versus the Splash Brothers. It's the rematch most of the basketball world wanted, with LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers squaring off against Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the 73-win Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals beginning Thursday (9 p.m. ET).

The storyline on both sides is enticing. Golden State can secure "greatest team of all time" status by capping its record-breaking regular season with a second consecutive championship, while James, playing in his sixth straight NBA Finals, can deliver Cleveland its first major title in any sport since the Browns won the NFL crown in 1964.

The Cavs coasted through the first two rounds before overcoming a bit of adversity in a six-game battle with the Toronto Raptors. The Warriors faced a more difficult challenge, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference final against the Oklahoma City Thunder to earn the opportunity to defend their title.

Before tip-off of Game 1 at Oakland's Oracle Arena, here's a look at the headlines heading into the series:

King James and his cavalry

In last year's Finals, James, back in Cleveland following his four-year stint in Miami, was without two key members of his supporting cast due to injury. Kevin Love suffered a dislocated shoulder in Round 1 of the playoffs and Kyrie Irving broke his kneecap in Game 1 of the Finals.

This time, the Cavs enter the Finals at full strength. While Love and Irving were ineffective in both regular-season meetings against the defending champs, averaging a combined 17 points per game, the duo has risen to the occasion in the post-season. Love is averaging 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while shooting 44.6 per cent from beyond the arc, and Irving is averaging 24.3 points on 48 per cent shooting from the field.

Meanwhile, J.R Smith has proven his ability to get hot at any given moment, and Channing Frye has provided excellent three-point shooting off the bench with a 57.8 per cent clip from downtown.

Dialing long distance

It's no secret that the Warriors can dial it in from long distance. In fact, their three-point shooting can single-handedly decide a series — just ask Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder. 

In the Western Conference finals, the Golden State Warriors made 90 three-pointers compared to 55 by Oklahoma City, which is a difference of 105 points. Curry and Thompson also set a record for threes made in a single playoff series with Curry hitting 32 and Thompson 30.

But if there's a team that can go toe-to-toe with the Warriors from the land beyond, it's the Cavs. Cleveland leads all teams this post-season in three-point field goals made per game with 14.4 and is connecting on a league-high 43.4 per cent of its attempts. 

The Cavs are equipped with a variety of shooters that are sure to get some open looks when James or Irving penetrates the lane. 

The 'death lineup'

The small ball "death lineup" deployed by Warriors coach Steve Kerr is comprised of Curry, Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green. When the Warriors trailed 2-1 in last year's Finals, this was the lineup Kerr turned to and it subsequently changed the complexion of the series as the Warriors never lost again en route to the championship. 

The "death lineup" punishes opponents with its versatility on both sides of the ball. Offensively, teams must be wary of each player as they're all capable of shooting the ball from long distance. This can spell trouble for opposing big men because they must respect their opponents' shot by guarding them away from the basket, but most big men lack the lateral speed to prevent the offensive player from blowing by them if they choose to take the ball to the basket.

Defensively, the "death lineup" relies on a lot of switching, and the versatility of the Warriors allows them to do so without putting them in any huge mismatches.

How will Cleveland deal with it this time around? Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue is in his first Finals in that role, but as an assistant under his predecessor David Blatt last year, he saw firsthand what didn't work. 

Cleveland can try to match up with the Warriors by playing small. With the exception of Cavs backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova, the squad has the shooters to spread the floor.

If they choose to remain with a big lineup, the Cavs will need to use their size by feeding their big men the rock in the post.  But this is unlikely given the poor play of their centres.

Canadian Tristan Thompson, while still a threat on the glass, has had a weak post-season, averaging a shade under five points per contest. Meanwhile, backup centre Timofey Mozgov hasn't seen any action since a blowout win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals and his minutes have diminished since his time as a starter last year.