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A guide to 'Finals Weekend' in the Bay Area
Joe Thornton's beard is one of many attractions this weekend in the Bay Area, with the Warriors and Sharks hosting their respective sport's championship series. Dave Sandford/Getty Images

A guide to 'Finals Weekend' in the Bay Area

Typically, a weekend in June in which both of the Bay Area’s baseball teams are on the road would result in the greater sports fan realm having a serious case of boredom and blues.

But the expansive California market is in rare territory this year. Nobody will be without a sports fix due to the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics being out of town, as the Golden State Warriors and San Jose Sharks take over with both the Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals descending on the Bay Area all in one weekend.

Whether you are in the area for the weekend or watching from your couch on the other side of the country, it never hurts to know as much about both teams. Here’s a quick guide to the Bay Area sports scene for what we will call “Finals Weekend.”

Where The Games Take Place
The Sharks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, June 4, at SAP Center in the Bay Area’s South Bay hub of San Jose. The Warriors play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, June 5, all the way up the freeway at Oracle Arena in Oakland, just over the bridge from San Francisco.

Where The Teams Are In Their Respective Series     
SJS: Team Teal is coming home down in its Stanley Cup Final series with the Penguins 0-2, looking to turn its luck around on home ice after a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss at Consol Energy Center on Wednesday.

GSW: The Dubs, on the other hand, are coming off a convincing 104-89 victory over the Cavs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which took place on Thursday.

Who The Superstars Are
SJS: Captain Joe Pavelski leads a Sharks team full of goal scorers, including homegrown talent Logan Couture and postseason phenom Joel Ward. This is also the team garnering the most attention for players’ unique facial hair — veteran forward Joe Thornton and two-way defenseman Brent Burns have taken the term “playoff beard” to a whole new level.

GSW: Even the most casual of sports fans knows who two-time league MVP Steph Curry is. But he is part of a deep Golden State team with fellow “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson, polarizing power forward Draymond Green and last year’s Finals MVP Andre Iguodala — just to name a few.

Who The Opposition Is
SJS: Team captain and franchise face Sidney Crosby leads a stacked Penguins offense consisting of puck-handling specialist Evgeni Malkin, hot scorer Phil Kessel and goal-call-muse Nick Bonino.

GSW: LeBron James and the Cavs return in the “rematch” of last year’s Finals, with the healthy additions of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love — both of whom watched all or most of last year’s series from the bench.

Brief Preview
SJS: Even with the most niche of the Bay Area teams' fan bases, it's common knowledge that the Sharks have battled years of dashed playoff hopes and rumored locker-room dysfunction to arrive at the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in the franchise’s 25-year history.

While the road to the final round had its own set of challenges, San Jose faces its toughest in Pittsburgh, who dominated the Sharks with its speed for the better part of Games 1 and 2. The hope is that the team’s newly rediscovered success on home ice will translate into multiple wins, not to mention add to killer in-game entertainment.

GSW: Despite losing a healthy lead in the third quarter of Game 1, Golden State rebounded to take the first tilt in what is technically a rematch of last year’s Finals. However, the term can only be used loosely, as both the Warriors’ and Cavaliers’ rosters have seen changes over the past year.

Keys To Weekend Success
SJS: While matching Pittsburgh’s speed has been a focal point so far this series, the Sharks will have the most success if they put more pressure on Penguins rookie goaltender Matt Murray. While Murray currently looks better on paper than Sharks starter Martin Jones, his tendency to crumble in these playoffs has been greater. And while Jones has been nails on his end of the ice, he could surely benefit from a pickup from the defense and penalty kill.

In short: Getting an early goal could be the best boost for San Jose — well, that and the pick-me-up that the home crowd at the Tank should bring.

GSW: First and foremost, Golden State has to play a smart game throughout this series and minimize turnovers and fouls. That sounds like a no-brainer for any series, but it becomes more crucial when keeping the ball out of James’ hands as much as possible.

Also, the  Warriors emerged victorious in Game 1 because their supporting cast, namely Shaun Livingston being a beast off the bench. (Golden State's bench outscored Cleveland's 45-10.) It will continue to take a broad team effort against the Cavaliers, whose comeback effort in the third quarter Thursday demonstrates the potential for this series to be a long one.

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