Cleveland (1-3) at Golden State (3-1)
When: Monday, June 13th 2016
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Time: 9:05 ET | TV: ABC
The Golden State Warriors rebounded from one of their worst defeats this season on Friday and now are one win away from their second straight NBA Title – both against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry broke out of a three-game slump in a big way with 38 points and seven 3-pointers in the 108-97 victory in Game 4. Curry averaged just 16 points in the first three games and didn’t even have a 20-point outing, but helped the Warriors to a big road victory. “He’s Steph Curry. He’s the MVP for a reason,” head coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “He doesn’t have the size and the strength to dominate a game physically, so he has to dominate with his skill, and that’s not an easy thing to do because your shot sometimes isn’t going to go in.” Golden State set an NBA Finals record with 17 3-pointers in Game 4, and might need to rely on the long-range shot again. Draymond Green has been suspended for a flagrant 1 foul for a Game 4 incident in which he swung and hit Cleveland forward LeBron James in the groin. Green is forced to sit out because it is his fourth flagrant foul of the postseason. The Warriors have won 88 total games, surpassing the mark of 87 previously set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
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No team has ever recovered from a 3-1 series deficit to win the NBA Finals and the Cavaliers lost the first two games of the series at Oracle Arena by an average of 24 points and know it will take their best effort to force a Game 6. “We’ve already got to take a flight back home anyways, so we might as well come home with a win and play on our home floor again,” James told reporters. “Being a confident bunch we feel like the chips have been stacked up against us all year anyway.” James is averaging 24.8 points, 11 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the series but those numbers are being overshadowed by a truly ugly stat – an average of 5.8 turnovers. Point guard Kyrie Irving had 34 points in Game 4 for his second consecutive 30-point performance and he is averaging 25 points in the series. Kevin Love (concussion) had 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench in Game 4 after sitting out Game 3.
The Warriors don’t need Green to win this game at home. Curry and Klay Thompson will take over this game and feed off the home crowd for a convincing win and another NBA Championship.
Pick: Warriors -5.5
