The third-ranked offense of the Cleveland Cavaliers (53-29) welcomes the first-ranked defense of the Golden State Warriors (67-15) in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jun. 11 and will air on ABC.
The Cavaliers took their second straight over the Warriors with a 96-91 win on Tuesday. LeBron James again led the Cavs with 40 points, 12 reounds and eight assists. The league MVP Steph Curry shrugged off a bad start in the first half to finish with 27 points, all but three of which came in the second half.
The game should be a battle of strength against strength, as the high-powered offense of Cleveland (third in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 108.1) takes on the stingy defense of Golden State (first in the league with a defensive efficiency of 98.6). It will also be a tale of two tempos, as the up-tempo Warriors are ranked first in possessions per game, with the slow-paced Cavaliers at 26th.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Cavaliers are attempting to build on their records of 53-29 Straight Up (SU) and 40-42 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 3-7 ATS over their last 10 games, but have found ways to get wins, going 7-3 SU.
On the other side, the Warriors head into the game with records of 47-34-1 ATS and 67-15 SU. Golden State has a record of 25-5 SU and 15-14-1 ATS against the East. The Warriors are shooting lights out so far, with an NBA-best .478 field-goal percentage. The Warriors are the best team in the league at finding the open man with an average of 27.4 assists per game. A large part of Golden State’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 19.5 points per game off turnovers, which ranks first in the league.
Following the Cavaliers’ latest win over Golden State, Cleveland is still behind in the head-to-head record over the last 10 meetings, 3-7 SU. The Warriors also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Golden State held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last 10 meetings. Cleveland never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – GS, ATS Winner – GS
Notes
Cleveland 8-1-1 SU in its last 10 games.
Cleveland 22-2-1 SU in its last 25 games at home.
Cleveland is 3-8-1 SU in its last 12 games, when playing Golden State.
Cleveland is 1-4-1 SU in its last 6 games, when playing at home against Golden State.
Cleveland 15-7-1 SU in its last 23 games when playing at home against Golden State.
Ranked zeroth, Cleveland puts up 0.0 points per game. On the other hand, Golden State allows 0.0 and also ranks zeroth (in points allowed).
Cleveland and Golden State are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Cleveland scores an average of 0.0 points per home game, while Golden State allows 0.0 points per away game on average.
In its last game, Golden State lost by a margin of two points. Cleveland is 6-4 in games decided by three points or less. Golden State has a 5-3 record in close games.
Golden State has a perfect 40-0 record when opponents score fewer than 100 points. The Cavaliers do not fare well when they score under 100, earning an 11-24 record in such contests.
The Warriors have a 27-15 record when they allow at least 100 points. The Cavaliers have also performed well when they register triple digits with a record of 42-5 in such contests.
The Cavaliers have a defensive rating of 103.4 (ranked 17th), while the Warriors rank second for their offensive rating of 108.6.
Cleveland has an average field goal percentage of 45.8%, eighth-ranked in the NBA. Golden State is a solid 14-9 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank higher for their effective field goal percentage (fourth) than they do for their field goal percentage (eighth). The Golden State Warriors rank first for both their FG% and EFF%.
The Golden State Warriors top the league in assists, earning 27.4 per game this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers are also among the best in the NBA, earning 22.1 per game (ranked 10th).
Cleveland makes an average of 4.1 blocks per game (ranked 25th). Golden State ranks higher in blocks with 6.0 (ranked second).
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a top-15 offensive rebounding team, currently ranked 11th for the season. The Golden State Warriors rank near the very top (fourth) in defensive rebounding.
Golden State averages 9.3 steals per game (ranked fourth). Cleveland is 16-17 when allowing at least 9 steals.
