NBA Finals Schedule 2016: Game 1 TV Info and Cavaliers vs. Warriors Prediction

As the dust settled after three rounds of the NBA playoffs, which featured four seven-game series as well as a multitude of blowouts, the two teams left standing are the top seeds from their respective conferences, the reigning champion Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It's a rematch of the 2015 NBA Finals, which the Warriors won in six games. Of course, not only is it a matchup of the league's two best teams, but also its two top players, as Stephen Curry tries to lead his Warriors past LeBron James' Cavs for the second straight time.

So there is no shortage of storylines heading into what should become a long, competitive series for the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Let's check out all of the important details for Game 1 along with a preview and a prediction for which team will grab the early lead.

Viewing Information

Where: Oracle Arena in Oakland, California

When: Thursday, June 2, at 9 p.m. ET

Watch: ABC

Live Stream: ESPN3

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Game 1 Preview

Although it's the same combatants as one year ago, the feeling heading into the series is a lot different. That's mostly because the Cavaliers are far healthier than they were at this time last season, when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love combined to play one game in the Finals.

Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com passed along comments from James, who downplayed being installed as the underdogs for both Game 1 and the series. He's confident his squad is more prepared for what lies ahead with all their stars ready to roll.

"We're better built to start the Finals than we were last year," James said. "Doesn't matter who it's against. I mean, that's not a headline. It's obvious."

The question is whether having Irving and Love available will be enough to completely flip the script and bring Cleveland's championship drought to an end. The city last celebrated a title in 1964 when the Browns won the NFL Championship before the Super Bowl came into existence.

James and Co. didn't fare too well during the meetings in the regular season, though. They lost both encounters by an average of 20 points and struggled to keep the sharpshooting Warriors from getting clean looks from beyond the arc, as ESPN Stats & Info highlighted:

That said, the most important number from that breakdown is the Cavs' three-point shooting percentage. They can't shoot below 25 percent from long range and expect to keep pace with the Warriors, but the numbers have been more encouraging so far in the playoffs.

Cleveland leads the NBA in both three-point percentage (43.4) and threes made per game (14.4) during their postseason run. If it can maintain that level of performance against Golden State, it basically becomes a toss-up series.

One thing's for sure: The Warriors are going to stick to their game plan. They have used small ball better than any other team over the past couple of seasons, creating matchup problems as Curry and Klay Thompson stretch defenses with their seemingly limitless range.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News noted Golden State head coach Steve Kerr isn't overly concerned about the debates of whether the Warriors could have survived in the 1990s or earlier. He's built the team's system to take advantage of the current rules and a lack of marquee post players:

"

So I think there's definitely some accuracy there, with what some of the old-timers are saying. The rules were different–so if we feel threatened we can strong-side defend the post. That would've been illegal 20 years ago.

So all these arguments are valid. It's just you have to qualify the differences in the era, in terms of the personnel, and also the rules. We would've been called for illegal defense all the time 20 years ago.

But these days you just don't run into the dominant low-post scorer as often, so you can kind of go smaller more often.

"

There could be stretches during the series where the de facto center matchup is James against Draymond Green. But the Warriors are also capable of using a more standard approach with Andrew Bogut and Marreese Speights.

Ultimately, the series is going to feature a lot of meaningful in-game adjustments. Tyronn Lue, who's less than five months into his head coaching tenure, must decide whether to try to remain matched up with Golden State or try to make better chess moves than Kerr, likely for six or seven games.

The Warriors will likely be motivated to make a statement after narrowly escaping elimination in the previous round against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Holding serve at home in Game 1 would just be the start of what should be a fascinating series, though.

Prediction: Warriors 106, Cavaliers 102