NBA Finals Preview: The Golden State Warriors are attempting to become the first team to go undefeated during the playoffs in NBA history.
#1 Golden State (82-15) at #2 Cleveland Cavaliers (63-35), Friday, 9 p.m. EST
Line: Warriors -6. Total 228.
Series: Warriors lead 3-0.
The Warriors took Cleveland’s best shot from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Game 3 and prevailed 118-113. Golden State outscored the Cavaliers 11-0 in the final three minutes and nine seconds of the game to erase a six-point deficit to win by five points.
The Warriors’ 11-0 run to close the game sounds the death knell for this series. NBA teams up 3-0 in a playoff series are 126-0 in winning those series. What makes a Cleveland comeback even more improbable is the fact that Golden State is 30-1 in their last 31 games. The Warriors are the only team in NBA history to start the postseason 15-0.
This series is basically over. There is no need to review the players' stats in this series. Kevin Durant is putting up MVP numbers, while Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have been spectacular. LeBron is averaging a triple-double in this series. Irving has been amazing and Kevin Love has been great.
However, the only question left to answer is whether or not Cleveland can extend the series to a fifth game. If not, then the Warriors will become the first team in NBA history to have a perfect postseason.
The talking heads on television are arguing about whether or not LeBron and the Cavs can summon up a prideful performance in Game 4 to avoid the sweep. Some are saying there is extra motivation now for Cleveland because that 16-0 postseason number for the Warriors is being discussed out in the open.
There is a glimmer of hope for the stunned Cleveland fans who are looking for a miracle in this series. In the history of the league, three teams have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0 in a playoff series. One of those three instances did occur in the NBA Finals.
Here is a chart of the teams who have accomplished these feats courtesy of nba.com:
https://www.nba.com/news/extendingseriestogame6.html
For all the Cavaliers’ fans who prefer to have the glass-is-half-full approach, there may be hope for at least a Game 4 win. If you look at the team statistics for Game 3, the numbers show that the Cavs actually played better in Game 2.
Cleveland outrebounded the Warriors by 14 in Game 2, but had 7 fewer rebounds than Golden State in Game 3. The Cavs had 10 fewer assists and 6 fewer steals in Game 3. The Cavaliers also had 6 fewer fast break points and 22 fewer points in the paint in Game 3.
The biggest difference from Game 2 to Game 3 is that Cleveland relied too heavily on James and Irving. Their star duo took 56 shots in Game 3 compared to 41 shots in Game 2. James and Irving combined for 77 points in Game 3 compared to 48 points in Game 2.
LeBron and Irving combined to play 90 out of a possible 96 minutes in Game 3. Consequently, they were tired in the fourth quarter. The dynamic duo combined to shoot 4-for-12 (33.3%) in the fourth quarter while scoring just 12 points. The Cavs shot 0-for-8 in the final three minutes of the game when they were outscored 11-0.
The point is that Cleveland needs to combine the way they played as a team in Game 2 with the stellar performances that Lebron and Irving had in Game 3. The Cavs played better as a team in Game 2, while King James and Irving were awesome in Game 3. However, those two players carried too much of the load and were gassed down the stretch in Game 3. The Cavaliers cannot rely on LeBron and Irving to carry the entire offense basically going one-on-one, one-on-two or even one-on-three against the Warriors’ defense. Cleveland needs to find another 20 to 25 points from other players.