There’s just no stopping Golden State right now. The Warriors stretched their unbeaten run in the postseason to 14 games with an impressive 112-93 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. For the second game running, it was Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant who led the way for the Warriors who are trying to become the first group to go undefeated all the way to an NBA championship. Curry nabbed his first career postseason triple-double in Game 2 with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, while Durant recorded 33 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks in another sterling all-around performance.
Head coach Steve Kerr, who made a triumphant return on Sunday, wasn’t totally impressed with the Dubs’ performance, though, in Game 2. In fact, Kerr said that the Warriors will lose Game 3 if they delivered the same kind of showing this coming Wednesday. Drawing Kerr’s ire was Golden State’s sloppy play. After committing just four miscues (league-best) in Game 1, the Warriors went on to record a whopping 20 turnovers in Game 2. That performance simply won’t do against a Cleveland side that’s in a must-win mode in Game 3.
The good news for Golden State is that Klay Thompson has finally rediscovered his shooting stroke in this Finals series. He torched the Cavs for 22 points on Sunday, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Thompson’s four threes matched his 2017 playoff high from Game 3 of the first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Warriors are 6-0 SU and ATS on the road this postseason. They are pegged at -1,500to win the 2017 NBA Finals.
Here we go again! Just like last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers will head back to Quicken Loans Arena for Game 3 of the NBA Finals down 2-0. LeBron James tried his best to even this series at a game apiece but his triple-double performance (29 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists) in Game 2 still wasn’t enough to lift the Cavs past the star-laden Warriors.
Much of the criticism in this series has been hurled against Cavs’ starting point guard Kyrie Irving. He has struggled mightily on the offensive end in the first two games of this series, scoring just 43 points on 18-of-45 shooting from the field. His defense hasn’t been up to par as well, with Stephen Curry averaging 30 points in the 2017 Finals thus far, including notching a triple-double in Game 2. So what’s going on with Kyrie? ESPN’s J.A. Adande theorized that a knee injury may be the cause of Irving’s woes in this series. An injured Kyrie will be a death knell to the Cavs who are not getting enough scoring from their supporting cast.
Tristan Thompson, one of Cleveland’s few rebounding threats, has managed just eight points and eight rebounds through two games. J.R. Smith was a non-factor in Game 2 as well, failing to score a single point in 14 minutes of action. The Cavs’ reserves didn’t fare much better with Channing Frye and Deron Williams combining to shoot just 1-for-10 from the floor in that contest.
Iman Shumpert was one of the few Cavs’ players who made a good account for himself in Game 2. He scored six points, grabbed four rebounds and recorded three steals on Sunday. Shumpert, who needed IV after that Game 2 loss, is expected to start this coming Wednesday in place of the struggling J. R. Smith. He will be tasked to somewhat limit the in-form Kevin Durant who’s averaging an incredible 35.5 points per game in this year’s Finals.
The Cavs are 5-1 SU and 2-4 ATS at home this postseason. They are pegged at +800to win the 2017 NBA Finals.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State (-3.5) moves to within a victory of a historic postseason sweep with a 117-110 win.
