NBA Finals Schedule 2016: Cavaliers vs. Warriors Game 2 TV Info and Predictions
The Golden State Warriors will need more than 20 combined points from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to win Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Whether or not the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday night, the Splash Brothers will certainly exceed Game 1's low scoring tally. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that's the duo's lowest output in the last two years.
Better shooting from the league's premier marksmen could cause an even bigger blowout. Then again, Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa won't go bonkers off the bench again.
Game 2 will play out differently than Thursday's unorthodox series-opener, but the outcome may remain the same.
NBA Finals: Game 2 Schedule
Date: Sunday at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
TV: ABC
Live Stream: Watch ABC
Game 2 Predictions
Both Teams Make More Threes
The Cavaliers and Warriors have made 13.9 and 12.3 three-pointers per game, respectively, during the playoffs. In last year's Finals clash, they averaged a combined 19.3 downtown conversions per contest with no Kevin Love and one game from Kyrie Irving.
They attempted plenty of looks to open their rematch, but both sides made just one-third of their three-point attempts:
| Game 1 3PM-A | 9-27 | 7-21 |
| Season 3PM-A/GM | 13.1-31.6 | 10.7-29.6 |
| Postseason 3PM-A/GM | 12.3-30.7 | 13.9-29.6 |
For Golden State, this falls on Curry going 3-of-8 and Thompson sinking one of his five looks. These are the same jump-shooting assassins who saved the season with 30 total threes in Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
Some open looks simply didn't go down. Per the San Jose Mercury News' Marcus Thompson II, Curry expects that to change Sunday.
"I missed some shots and didn't get a rhythm," Curry said. "But the way they defended, we'll be able to make adjustments in Game 2. I'm not worried about that."
After enjoying unprecedented success from behind the mark, the Cavs may succumb to untimely regression against a ferocious defense. Even so, they still nailed 10.7 threes per regular-season contest, tying the Houston Rockets for second behind Golden State's 13.1.
They can't afford J.R. Smith fading out now. The mercurial shooting guard—who has tallied 50 three-pointers this postseason—scored three points in 36 minutes Thursday night. He'll take and make more shots as the Cavs fight out of isolation mode.
Cleveland's Bench Struggles Again
When the Warriors' stars rested in Game 1, their lead expanded. Behind an exceptional all-around performance from Andre Iguodala, 20 points from Livingston and a perfect shooting performance (5-of-5) from Barbosa, the bench scored 45 of the team's 104 points.
Cleveland's bench, meanwhile, mustered 10 points. Vital contributors to their Eastern Conference dominance suddenly became mitigated by Golden State's superior reserves and small-ball tendencies.
Richard Jefferson looked every bit like a 35-year-old swingman. Aside from hitting Iguodala in an unfortunate spot, Matthew Dellavedova never came close to replicating last year's unexpected Finals performance.
Most telling of the Cavs' offensive drop-off, Channing Frye played seven minutes despite making more than half of his threes (26-of-46) this postseason. On Cleveland's way to the Finals, the big man's crisp shooting unlocked a lethal lineup alongside James, Jefferson, Dellavedova and defensive specialist Iman Shumpert.
Against the Warriors, however, there's nowhere to hide him on defense. Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue explained his reasoning for limiting Frye's role to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin.
“I thought the matchup was kind of hard,” Lue said Friday. “When we went from Channing and LeBron in that 4 and 5 lineup, they went small. But Channing's a big part of what we do, so I have to find a way to keep him on the floor.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr should continue to lean on his Death Lineup, preventing Frye from firing up his hot hand. After Game 1, Lue might need to risk defense in hopes of igniting an offensive spark. He'll also have to play his starting stars as much as possible in order to not expose an overmatched second unit.
Stars Lead Warriors to Victory
Livingston won't nail down mid-range jumpers whenever he wants. Barbosa won't keep making unbalanced, contested heaves without fail. Andrew Bogut, who scored 10 points combined through last year's championship series, won't offer another 10 points in 15 minutes.
That's just fine. The Warriors are still comfortably relaxed in the driver's seat and poised to leave Oakland with a 2-0 advantage.
When Curry and Thompson were less than stellar against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they got clobbered. Against Cleveland, which reverted into old habits with a slower pace and poor ball movement, the Warriors have a larger margin for error.
As opined by ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss, the Warriors have every reason to feel confident after Game 1's 15-point win:
"While the Warriors can’t count on beating the Cavs’ bench production 45-10 in every game, they’re privately ecstatic about how this one unfolded. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were cold and they still won handily. After weeks of Tyronn Lue discussing a fast-paced, free-flowing, new-look Cavs, Cleveland appeared very much the same team Golden State had seen before as the Cavs slowed the pace and devolved into iso-ball.
"
With both averaging more than 25 points per game this postseason, the Splash Brothers will double Game 1's output even if neither enjoys a particularly memorable outing. Cleveland also has no answer for Draymond Green, who bounced back from a frustrating conference finals with 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
If he continues to keep James in check, Iguodala could become the most improbable back-to-back Finals MVP ever. With everything pointing in the Warriors' direction, they take Game 2 at home.
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