The Golden State Warriors are one game away from winning their third NBA title in four seasons. The Dubs came to the Quicken Loans Arena in Game 3 and stole one from the Cavaliers 110-102.
With both teams separated by just one point in the final two minutes of Game 3, the Warriors pulled away with excellent execution down the stretch and a dagger three-pointer by Kevin Durant. The Warriors were only up by three at 103-100 when KD nailed a thirty foot three pointer to end Cleveland’s chances of winning the game and making a series out of the 2018 NBA Finals.
No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a best of seven playoff series. Overall, teams down 0-3 are 0-131 all-time in the playoffs and 0-13 in the NBA Finals. With everything but the final score settled, the more interesting thing now is whether the Warriors can sweep the Cavs or not.
The Cavs were in this same spot last year but they managed to salvage a win in Game 4. Can they do the same this year?
Check out the odds, our preview and pick for Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals:
At the start of the 2018 NBA Finals, we talked about Kevin Durant being the difference maker in last season’s championship series with the former OKC Thunder superstar winning 2017 NBA Finals MVP honors. Through the first two games of the 2018 NBA Finals, Durant has silently done his damage, averaging 26 points on an aggregate 18-36 ( 50% ) shooting from the floor.
That’s because Stephen Curry was making three-point history in Games 1 & 2. Aside from averaging 31.5 points per game in the first two games, Curry’s 14 three-pointers made through Game 2 is a Finals record. His 9 three-pointers made in Game 2 was also an NBA Finals record. But with Chef Curry struggling to shoot 1-10 from deep and 3-16 overall in Game 3, plus Klay Thompson also missing his mark with just 10 points, the Warriors turned to an all too familiar face to deliver and put the Cavs on the brink.
Durant’s 43 points in Game 3 was a playoff career high. He didn’t just shoot 15-23 from the floor and shot 6-9 from three-point range, KD also made four 30-foot three pointers in Game 3, more than any team has ever made in one game in the last 20 postseasons. Not only was he stroking it from very deep, Durant was also scoring at will and against the entire Cavaliers team, making baskets against eight different Cleveland defenders in Game 3 and proving that there is no one on the Cavs who can stop him.
When are 37.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 block per game not enough? When you are playing against the Golden State Warriors I guess. That’s because LeBron James has put up that incredible stat line in the first three games of the 2018 NBA Finals yet his team is down 0-3.
You can’t ask for more from LeBron James in this series, and in the current postseason as a whole. King James is having his best playoff year, individually, putting up ridiculous numbers are breaking countless records. But when you’ve poured out your heart and soul into a playoff series and still come out short by this much, that has got to be very deflating.
LeBron James had done it all in this series. In Game 1, he had a 51 point game. In Game 2, his 13 assists tied his most in the last three championship series and in Game 3, he recorded his 10th Finals triple-double. Still, his team is only one loss away from getting swept in the NBA Finals. Against an offensive powerhouse like Golden State, the rest of the Cavs must do their share.
Cleveland got another good game from Kevin Love who had 20 points and 13 boards in Game 3. But he only had 5 points and 3 rebounds after the halftime break. Love is averaging 35 minutes per game in the Finals as compared to just 31.7 minutes the entire postseason and 28.0 minutes during the regular season. Perhaps the added load has eaten up his effectivity late in games. Tyronn Lue must manage Love’s minutes so he can be a factor down the stretch for the Cavs.
J.R. Smith scored 13 points in Game 3 but he shot only 5-14 from the floor and 3-10 from behind the three-point arc. Sure we love the fact that Smith has finally had a good scoring game, but most of his misses came in the second half when the Warriors were making their rally and when the game was on the line in the closing minutes.
Rodney Hood played seven minutes less than Smith but scored more ( 15 points ) and shot better from the field ( 7-11 ). If Cleveland wants to see a Game 5, Lue must continue to play Hood and perhaps give some of J.R. Smith’s minutes to scorer reserves like Jordan Clarkson ( who didn’t see action in Game 3 ) and Kyle Korver ( who played just 11 minutes in Game 3 ).
Will the real Kyle Korver please stand up? In our Game 3 preview, we talked about the Cavaliers missing Kyle Korver. Korver has virtually been non-existent in the 2018 NBA Finals with just a total of four points scored and one three-pointer made in three games so far. While he’s missed scoring in double digits in his last playoff games, Korver historically plays bad against the Warriors in the playoffs.
Korver has played against the Golden State Warriors eight times in the postseason and he’s never scored in double digits against them. The most he’s scored against the Dubs in the playoffs is 8 points, he did that twice during the 2017 NBA Finals. As for his dreaded three-point shooting, Korver hasn’t made more than one three-pointer in seven of eight playoff games against the Warriors.
Remember that the Cavs are 8-1 in the current postseason with Korver scoring in double figures. If the Cavs want to get on board and avoid getting swept by the Warriors, Tyronn Lue must find a way to get Kyle Korver open looks. Don’t forget that prior to Game 3, he was knocking down 53% of his postseason three-pointers at home.
Since the NBL and BBA merged to form the NBA before the 1949-50 season, there have only been 8 sweeps in the NBA Finals. The last time it has happened though was in 2006-07 when the San Antonio Spurs showed the broom to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Although the Spurs didn’t have four All-Star in the squad, they had Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry Brent Barry and Michael Finley on that team. On the other hand, LeBron James only had the likes of Zydrunas Ilgauskas ( the older version ), Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao and Aleksandar Pavlovic backing him up.
The result was an utter mismatch, much like what has been happening in the 2018 NBA Finals where LeBron James has been like a one-man show facing a loaded offensive juggernaut like the Golden State Warriors. So will the 2018 Cavs suffer the same fate and will LeBron James get swept in the Finals for a second time?
The Cavs have given their all but it hasn’t been good enough. That’s just how good the Dubs are. As we said in our last preview, Game 3 was the Cavs’ best chance at getting a win in this series. They couldn’t beat the Warriors even on an off night by both Splash Brothers. Sure, the Cavs blew the Warriors in Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals. But if there’s any more motivation left for the Warriors in this series, it will be validating their greatness by completing that rare sweep. Between that and the Cavs wanting to extend the series, we’ll take the former.
It has been a long postseason for LeBron James. He’s carried his team this far but when you’re facing the best offensive team in the history of the NBA, you’re just so helpless. You know he isn’t just going to give up on Game 4, especially since it may ( possibly ) be the last time he will play as a member of the Cavaliers but they’ve been so badly beaten both physically and mentally. There are no numbers to back up body language but the Cavs looked done after Game 3. We’re picking the Golden State Warriors to win the game and finish off the Cavs via sweep.
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