The Cavs started fast, but the Warriors still have a hell of a closing kick

Heading into the marquee matchup on the NBA's Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate, we wondered whether this meeting between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers — NBA finalists in each of the last three years, the sport's two glamour franchises of the moment — would be different. While Golden State still sits atop the West, the Cavs have scuffled of late, losing seven of their last 10 and sitting closer to sixth place in the East than to the No. 1 spot … which, by the way, is currently occupied by a Boston Celtics squad led by former teammate Kyrie Irving, who left town this past summer in an in-conference megadeal that broke up the partnership that had led the Cavs to their first championship in franchise history. This time, though — unlike in last year's Finals, which the Warriors dominated in a five-game gentleman's sweep, and unlike on Christmas Day, when Golden State came away with a seven-point win — Cleveland would have Isaiah Thomas, the All-Star point guard who came back in exchange for Irving, but who had been sidelined for the last seven-plus months rehabilitating the hip injury that ended his career in Boston.