NBA Finals Preview: The Cleveland Cavaliers will have to snap Golden State’s 13-game postseason winning streak to even the series in Game 2.
#2 Cleveland Cavaliers (63-33) at #1 Golden State (80-15), Sunday, 8 p.m. EST
Line: Warriors -8.5. Total 220.5.
Series: Warriors lead 1-0.
The 2016-17 playoff thrashings continued in Game 1 of the NBA Finals as Golden State trounced the Cavaliers 113-91. Stephen Curry said during the postgame press conference after Game 1 that the Warriors can play better.
Cleveland fans do not want to hear that.
However, Curry is right. There are things Golden State can improve on. First, the Warriors missed 15 layups. Second, Draymond Green shot 3-for-12 from the field (25%). Third, Klay Thompson shot 3-for-16 from the field (18.8%). Fourth, the Warriors had 9 fewer rebounds than Cleveland, which is not a surprise. However, the rebounding margin is something Golden State can improve on.
On the flip side, there are a couple of things that the Warriors are going to have a difficult time improving on. First, Golden State had 31 assists against just 4 turnovers in Game 1. The 4 turnovers was the fewest in franchise history for the Warriors, regular season or playoffs. Those 4 turnovers also set a NBA Finals record for fewest turnovers in a game.
Second, Kevin Durant scored 38 points, while adding 8 assists and 8 rebounds without committing a turnover. Durant trails only Shaquille O’Neal for most points in a NBA Finals game without a turnover. Shaq had 41 points without a turnover in 2000.
Third, Curry scored 28 points, while adding 10 assists and 6 rebounds. He shot 50% from the field and 54.5% from three-point land. Fourth, when Thompson was the primary defender on defense, the man he was guarding shot 1-for-12 (8.3%) during the game. Fifth, the Warriors had 20 more shots taken than the Cavaliers.
LeBron James said during the post-game press conference that the Cavaliers are capable of playing a lot better. Cleveland has many things they need to improve on. First, the Cavs’ transition defense was terrible as they allowed 27 fast-break points. Durant got 6 dunks in Game 1. Second, the Cavs finished with a 56-30 disadvantage in points in the paint. Third, Tristan Thompson had just 4 rebounds and did not score a point. Fourth, Kevin Love shot just 4-for-13 (30.8%) from the field. Fifth, Cleveland had 20 turnovers and King James had an uncharacteristic 8 turnovers.
The one thing that will be difficult to improve on in Game 2 for the Cavaliers is Love grabbing 21 rebounds. Love set a franchise record for most rebounds in a postseason game. Second, an extension of Love’s individual franchise record also led to a team franchise record of 59 rebounds in Game 1.
Golden State has won all three Game 1’s in this NBA Finals trilogy with the Cavaliers. In 2014-15, the Warriors won in overtime and Cleveland responded with an overtime win of their own in Game 2. In 2015-16, Golden State won by 15 points in Game 1 and then throttled the Cavaliers in Game 2 by 33 points.
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said that the Warriors are the best team he has ever seen. Lue added that Game 1 gave his squad a chance to see the Warriors style of play and how fast they play. He went on to say that you just cannot simulate what Golden State does in a practice. Lue said adjustments will be made. The Cavs can play a lot better.
From a handicapping perspective, the team who has won the game has covered the Vegas spread in all 14 games these two teams have played in the NBA Finals during this trilogy. Nine of the last 11 NBA Finals games have been decided by double-digits. The under is 9-3-2 in the 14 games played during regulation time and there is one overtime-aided over to make the official tally 8-4-2 to the under on the game totals.
My postseason record: 16-7 (+$745).
My pick:
No pick as I will wait for the result of Game 2 before possibly making a play in Game 3. I do have leans to the Cavaliers and the under. Cleveland has a big bounce-back spot here and both previous Game 2’s stayed under by an average of 23.5 points per game in regulation time the last 2 series. In fact, Game 2 in 2014-15 stayed under the game total by 11 points despite the overtime period.
Good luck.
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