Pippen Ain’t Easy discussion roundtable: The 2017 NBA Finals

MW: Willie comin’ strong with a Dubs in 5 prediction right out of the gate. Guys, we know the big names: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry. Outside of that big quartet, who steps up and becomes this year’s Andre Iguodala from 2015 if you will?

DC: I’d be really amused if this series has a game or two turned by the played of either J.R. Smith or Pat McCaw. I mean, you know it is inevitable. Also, the disrespect of not putting Klay on this list.

WL: I’m a big Shaun Livingston guy. Considering he’d start for a lot of teams (the Bulls) and is one of the guys who doesn’t think the Earth is flat, he’s like one of the ladies from Hidden Figures on a sneaky-good Warriors second unit.

PS: Tristan Thompson is going to be very important this series. The Warriors love to get out and run off of defensive rebounds. That’s how they put their crazy runs together. One way to stop that is to get all the offensive boards. Tristan Thompson has been paid handsomely to GET ALL THE BOARDS. It’s a really isolated part of the matchup, but it’s going to be so important. If Thompson can be Dennis Rodman, they may have a shot.

BF: It could come down to the bigs and Tristan Thompson versus Zaza Pachuila. It will be huge for each big man to lock down the paint and not let KD and LBJ get easy buckets.

DB: I think Klay Thompson is the clear answer here. Klay’s been shooting poorly during the playoffs, but if he gets going, watch out. Oklahoma City fans are probably still seeing him in their nightmares after nearly single-handedly winning the Warriors Game 6 in the Western Conference Finals last year.