The Cavaliers enter the NBA Finals as underdogs in the eyes of most experts. The Warriors are coming off a season where they had the best offense, an elite defense and added Kevin Durant to a roster that won 73 games the season before. With all that and Cleveland's lack of consistency across the entire season, it makes sense why Golden State is considered the favorite.
However, Kevin Love disagrees with the idea that Cleveland are underdogs in this series. For him and the Cavs, it's merely motivation to fuel them as they enter the NBA Finals. They've played this same franchise three years in a row now so they have to feel pretty comfortable facing them once again.
Kevin Love says he doesn't feel like #Cavs are underdogs. Both teams match up well with one of those defending a title. #Warriors #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/EWi0BB3pjq
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) May 27, 2017
"The whole underdog thing is funny to me. At the end of the day we are defending our title. We're trying to repeat which is so hard to do. I think we will use it as fuel. We'll use it as motivation, but as far as the idea of playing into it it's tough for me to say that is the case. I don't think we're underdogs. I think we match up well with them and I think they'd say the same about us."
There probably aren't two teams in the NBA that know each other better than Cleveland and Golden State. They've been on a crash course for the NBA Finals since the beginning of the season and their two previous Finals appearances were both highly competitive.
With that in mind, it's no surprise that Love doesn't consider themselves underdogs. Even with the addition of Kevin Durant, the Cavs know they beat this team last year and there's no reason for them to not believe they can't win again. The great teams are fully confident they can win every game and it's that mindset that helped the Cavaliers get to the Finals in the first place.