It has been a long time since the Bay Area has been able to celebrate an NBA championship. The wait may be over.

The Golden State Warriors are in the finals for the first time in 40 years and the Bay Area can’t wait to host its first finals game since 1975.

The Warriors enter the finals after defeating the Houston Rockets in five games and have only lost four games in the playoffs.
They will be facing the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers, who are coming off of a clean sweep of the Atlanta Hawks.

The first game will not begin for another week, giving both teams eight days to rest and prepare. Time off will be beneficial for both teams, as they need to take care of injuries to their key players.

For the Warriors, Stephen Curry suffered a scary injury in Game 4 after falling on his right shoulder and hitting the back of his head.Thankfully he was cleared to still play and had no concussion of any sort.

Klay Thompson suffered an injury as well in Game 5 against the Rockets, after he was kneed in the ear and had to receive three stitches.

The key players to watch for in this series.

-Harrison Barnes for the Warriors has emerged in the playoffs as an offensive force and has picked up for the injuries to Thompson and Curry in the last two games.

-Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers was out for most of the conference finals with a knee injury, and team is hoping that he can fully recover in the time off.

The important key for the Cavaliers is having a healthy Irving, who they need to have on the court if they have any chance of trying to stop the splash brothers, and consistent shooting from J.R. Smith, who had a monster Game 1 against the Hawks.

The season series between these two teams is tied at 1-1.

This is not your typical Miami Heat or San Antonio Spurs appearing in the finals this year.

The NBA will either be giving Golden State their first title in 40 years or Cleveland their first in franchise history.

The Warriors have emerged as early favorites, understandably so because of their daunting 39-2 record at home during the regular season and 9-1 during the playoffs. With home-court advantage the Warriors tip off the finals at Oracle Arena Thursday June 4 at 6 p.m.