The Cleveland Cavaliers and their third-ranked offense welcome the Golden State Warriors and their first-ranked defense in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Action begins at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jun. 16 and can be seen on ABC.
The Cavaliers need to win in order to stay alive after their second straight loss to the Warriors, who now lead the series 3-2. LeBron James was again brilliant, registering 40 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists for his third triple-double of this series. But the Cavaliers again looked gassed in Game 5 as Stephen Curry, who finished with the 37 points, and the Warriors took advantage.
This showdown pits one of the league’s top offenses against one of its elite defenses, as Cleveland currently ranks third in the NBA in offensive efficiency and Golden State is first in defensive efficiency. It will also be a tale of two tempos, as the up-and-down Warriors are ranked first in possessions per game, with the methodical Cavaliers at 26th.
The odds for Cleveland and Golden State are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Cavaliers come into this game 53-29 Straight Up (SU) and 40-42 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a solid 7-3 SU record over their last 10 games, but have not fared as well ATS (3-7).
Over on the other bench, the Warriors have a record of 47-34-1 ATS and 67-15 SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Golden State is 25-5 SU and 15-14-1 ATS. The Warriors convert their shots at a high percentage, leading the league at .478. The Warriors are a very unselfish team with a NBA-leading 27.4 assists per game. Golden State is the best team in the league at scoring points off turnovers with 19.5 per game.
In their previous meeting this season, Golden State beat Cleveland, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 6-4. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record. Golden State held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers two times, while Cleveland was never able to do so in their most recent 10 games.
Predictions: SU Winner – GS, ATS Winner – GS
Notes
Both Golden State and Cleveland rank zeroth in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Golden State puts up 0.0 points per game, while Cleveland allows 0.0.
Golden State and Cleveland are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Golden State puts up an average of 0.0 points on the road, while Cleveland allows 0.0 points at home on average.
Cleveland has a superb 39-7 record when it allows under 100 points this season. Golden State is 8-6 when it puts up under 100.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a losing 14-22 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Golden State Warriors are 59-9 when they hit triple digits.
The Warriors have the best defense in the NBA, with a defensive rating of 98.6. The Cavaliers’s offense ranks a solid third, with an offensive rating of 108.1.
With 95.4 possessions and 1.081 points per possession, the Cleveland Cavaliers perform worse on both metrics than the Golden State Warriors. Golden State averages 101.2 possessions and 1.086 points per possession.
Golden State has an average effective field goal percentage of 54.0% (ranked first in the league}. Cleveland is a poor 7-14 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Cleveland Cavaliers average 27.5 three point attempts per game, and the Golden State Warriors attempt 27.0 per game. When going for at least 25 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Cleveland is 34-21 and Golden State is 48-10.
Cleveland has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.62 this season (ranked 16th). Golden State ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.94 (ranked second).
The Cavaliers rank 18th in rebounds per game with 43.0, while the Warriors rank sixth with 44.7 per game.
The Golden State Warriors rank 23rd in offensive rebounding, while the Cleveland Cavaliers rank 21st in defensive rebounding.
Golden State averages a forced turnover rate of 15.3% this season, ranked sixth in the league. Cleveland has a 17-18 record when they suffer a turnover rate equal to or exceeding this.
