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5 bold predictions for the NBA Finals

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty

For the seventh time since 1979, the NBA Finals will be a rematch of last year - a series that saw the Golden State Warriors hoist their first Larry O'Brien Trophy in 40 years.

With Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving fully healthy, the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to exact revenge after bowing out in six games last season.

Here are five bold predictions for the NBA Finals:

Cleveland steals Game 1 at Oracle

The Warriors will ultimately win the series, but the Cavaliers will put an early scare into the NBA's greatest regular-season team. Well rested from their Conference finals matchup, the Cavaliers will use a flurry of long bombs to stun Golden State in Game 1, as the Warriors feel the effects of a long, seven-game series.

Klay Thompson wins Finals MVP

For the second times in as many years, the Finals MVP will be handed to a member of the Warriors not named Steph Curry.

With the Cavaliers lacking a shutdown perimeter defender, Klay Thompson will continue his hot stretch into the Finals, wreaking havoc on his opponents with his deadly 3-point shooting. On the other end, Thompson will hold J.R. Smith to another miserable Finals showing, impressing voters enough to earn him the Finals MVP.

Kevin Love fails to eclipse 15 points in any game

Facing the NBA's fourth-ranked defense, Cleveland's third wheel will struggle to score in his Finals debut.

Love's inconsistency has been a concern for the Cavaliers throughout their 2015-16 campaign, looking like an All-NBA player one night, then an afterthought the next. Love, who averaged 6.5 points against the Warriors in the regular season, could very well find himself in trade rumors once again should he struggle against Golden State.

Kyrie Irving leads the series in scoring

With Golden State focusing the majority of its energy on stopping LeBron James, Kyrie Irving will prove his worth as one of the league's premier scorers.

Irving already leads the Cavaliers in field-goal attempts this postseason, and is more than comfortable carrying the offense for prolonged stretches, so it's likely he'll be trigger-happy with his confidence sky high.

The 24-year-old struggled against the Warriors in two regular-season games, but that trend should cease now that he appears fully recovered from a torn Achilles.

Marreese Speights averages double-digit scoring off the bench

A notorious up-and-down player, Speights will find a way to bounce back after shooting 36.7 percent from the floor over the last two rounds. Whether it's Love, Channing Frye, or Tristan Thompson forced to cover him on the perimeter, Speights will pose a matchup problem for whichever big man Tyronn Lue throws his way.

Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli are both limited offensively, so a big series from Speights will be crucial to the Dubs' success.

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