NBA Finals 2016: Warriors vs. Cavaliers TV Schedule, Odds and Game 3 Predictions
Yikes.
Following a competitive Game 1 of the NBA Finals that saw the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89, Sunday night’s Game 2 was ugly.
A massacre, even.
The Dubs just poured it on after trailing 21-19 heading into the second quarter. From there, Golden State outscored the Cavs 91-56.
Heading into Wednesday’s Game 3, the Cavaliers will look to avoid another beatdown and get back into the series by defending their home court.
Schedule
| Wednesday, June 8 | 9 p.m. ET | Quicken Loans Arena | ABC | GSW 2, CLE 0 |
Game 3 can be streamed here.
Odds
| Cavaliers | +275 |
| Warriors | -350 |
As of publication, Odds Shark had not updated odds for Game 3. Above are the series odds as of June 3.
Predictions
Stephen Curry plays like an MVP
Stephen Curry hasn’t played poorly during the first two games of the Finals, but he certainly hasn't been himself.
In Thursday’s Game 1, the Baby-Faced Assassin only scored 11 points, his second-lowest total of the entire season.
He was hurt when he posted his lowest total, which was a five-point effort in 14 minutes against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 2. He didn’t play in the second half of that game because of a shin contusion, per Rosalyn Gold-Onwude of Comcast SportsNet.
Curry was 4-of-15 from the field and 3-of-8 from deep in Game 1, but he helped the Warriors pull away in the fourth quarter. There was considerably less pressure on Sunday.
In Game 2, Curry went 7-of-11 from the floor and made four of his eight three-point attempts en route to 18 points.
As noted by Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders, this has been a historically low-scoring stretch for Curry:
The Warriors are deep enough and talented enough to withstand a few quiet outings from the MVP. On that note, Josh Eberley of Today’s Fastbreak posed an interesting question:
There’s little individual pressure on Curry. He shares LeBron James’ otherworldly ability to dominate, but he doesn’t share the burden of single-handedly carrying the team.
Without the weight of the world on his shoulders, it’s only a matter of time before Curry goes on one of his patented earth-shattering shooting tears.
Expect him to end his “slump” in Game 3.
Timofey Mozgov gets in
Remember Timofey Mozgov?
Sure you do. He was one of the surprising stars in last year’s Finals. He put up 14 points on 55.1 percent shooting to go with 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks against the smaller Warriors.
In Game 4, Mozgov exploded for 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go with 10 boards.
Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves—the 7-footer is far from perfect. He’s isn't smooth (at all) and can play too clumsily to make a difference at times.
But he can’t even get a chance this series?
Granted, head coach Tyronn Lue has kept Mozgov on a short leash throughout the entire postseason. The Russian center didn't play in six games before the Finals, and then he got garbage time in Games 1 and 2.
Many, like CBS’ Doug Gottlieb, feel that Lue should unleash the big fella to counter Golden State's tendency to go small:
Is Mozgov a panacea? Nope.
But you can’t teach height, and the Cavaliers’ other big men aren’t making much of a difference.
It’s certainly worth a try.
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