NBA Finals Schedule 2016: TV Times, Live Stream for Cavaliers vs. Warriors

The 2016 NBA Finals is a good example of a sporting event winding up like most expected.

That isn't a bad thing. After the Golden State Warriors took care of business against the Cleveland Cavaliers last year and the dust settled on a summer of moves, it seemed most expected a rematch between the two sides.

And here it is. After Cleveland breezed through the Eastern Conference and Golden State survived the depth of the Western Conference and injuries, the seven-game slate looks like so:

Game	Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
1	Thursday, June 2	Cavaliers at Warriors	9 p.m.	ABC
2	Sunday, June 5	Cavaliers at Warriors	8 p.m.	ABC
3	Wednesday, June 8	Warriors at Cavaliers	9 p.m.	ABC
4	Friday, June 10	Warriors at Cavaliers	9 p.m.	ABC
5*	Monday, June 13	Cavaliers at Warriors	9 p.m.	ABC
6*	Thursday, June 16	Warriors at Cavaliers	9 p.m.	ABC
7*	Sunday, June 19	Cavaliers at Warriors	8 p.m.	ABC

Not that the path traveled was as predictable as the two powerhouses meeting again.

For instance, few expected Cleveland to be here both so potent and healthy. This is a team that looked dysfunctional at best in most aspects before firing former head coach David Blatt, with new head coach Tyronn Lue tasked with reeling in LeBron James.

Yet Cleveland needed just 14 games to reach the Finals, sweeping the first two rounds with ease and needing six games to handle the pesky Toronto Raptors.

It has been a far cry from last year's hobbled squad, too. Granted, James has averaged 24.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. But Kyrie Irving has gone for 24.3 points and 5.1 assists, and Love has averaged 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds, giving James some serious help.

This Cavaliers squad is the realization of the front office's building over the years, something injuries robbed it of last year. Now looks as good a time as any to fulfill the expectations, though, especially going into what could be a lengthy series against a gassed Warriors team.

Stephen Curry and the Warriors had a much tougher task escaping the Western Conference, needing five games apiece to best their first two opponents.

Resiliency would seem like the theme for the Warriors this year, though, as the team mustered its way through the playoffs thus far either without Curry part of the time or with him not 100 percent thanks to a knee issue.

So it wasn't much in the way of a surprise to see Curry and Co. storm back from a 3-1 deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder, lighting it up from long range to pull off the historic feat.

"No one ever had any doubt that we could get this done," Draymond Green said, according to ESPN.com. "People have seen teams down 3-1 before, but they ain't seen many. They've definitely never seen a 73-win team down 3-1."

The Mercury News' Tim Kawakami put the Warriors' dominance when it matters in perspective:

Curry and Klay Thompson carried the Warriors again when it mattered. Curry poured in 36 points on 7-of-12 shooting from deep, while Thompson got 21 points on 6-of-11 from three in the 96-88 Game 7 win.

Where this series gets interesting is how it might deter from the expected outcome.

It's safe to somewhat figure the Cavaliers enter at a serious disadvantage. Not only do the Warriors boast stats such as those outlined above, but they took care of business against the Cavaliers over two regular-season encounters, 89-83 and 132-98.

One has to be careful, though, because the Cavaliers still had Blatt as head coach during those encounters, and the team hadn't yet acquired Channing Frye, a guy who has come up huge in a rotational role with 10 or more points in five playoff games while spacing the floor with his deep shooting.

Indeed, these Cavaliers have evolved and might have a better chance than the miserable showings in the regular season, so much so that Lue made a point to tell the media it didn't matter who came out of the Western Conference, according to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin:

"

It does play a part, but it's really more so about us. If we're on the right page and doing things the right way, we're going to be fine. ... We just want the winner. Just whoever wins. We're preparing for both, and after tonight, we will get a chance to see who we finally play.

"

Nobody would suggest the Warriors are the same team, either, not after having to adjust and throw everything they had at Kevin Durant to claw their way out of a deep hole. Curry's knee looks fine, and the team doesn't figure to have many problems coming up with lineups that limit what Cleveland's Big Three can do on the offensive end of the court.

It's a long-winded way of saying the rematch is the best possible thing the Association could have asked for given the on-paper outlook and the paths traveled, not to mention the legacies swinging in the balance.

The epic series tips off Thursday.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.