NBA Finals Schedule 2016: Warriors vs. Cavaliers Game 6 TV Info and Predictions

The 2016 NBA Finals return to Cleveland, home of the Cavaliers, on Thursday, while the visiting Golden State Warriors get to return to a potent small-ball lineup that is perhaps ready to end the series.

Golden State missed Draymond Green in Game 5 and paid the price in a 112-97 defeat. Instead of hoisting a trophy in front of the home fans and maybe having Green do something wild like fly down from the rafters along with the confetti, the Warriors have to hit the road for Game 6.

Cleveland now looks as hot as it ever has this postseason, while Golden State gets Green back. Call it the perfect way to set up the end of the series, whether Golden State wins or Cleveland takes one step closer to a historic comeback.

2016 NBA Finals Game 6

When: Thursday at 9 p.m. ET

Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

TV: ABC

Live Stream: WatchESPN

"Two of the best words ever," LeBron James said, according to Tom Withers of the Associated Press. "Game 7."

One can almost feel the hunger through such a simple quote. It represents the short and sweet musings of a man tasked with bringing a title to a city after handcrafting a superteam, only to stumble into one of the greatest teams of all time, one redefining the sport as the globe knows it.

Still, James and the Cavaliers can take plenty from Game 5. Las Vegas sure has, with the Cavaliers sitting as two-point favorites in Game 6, according to Odds Shark.

The Cavaliers didn't just take advantage of Green's absence. James put together one of his best playoff performances ever, going for 41 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. Kyrie Irving also posted 41 while turning up the defense and hitting contested shot after contested shot.

Who says desperation doesn't breed quality play?

The Warriors now have a sense of desperation, as going into Game 7 against a Cavaliers team on a two-game winning streak wouldn't be the best idea, home game or not. Ask Green, though, and the Warriors should already have the Larry O'Brien Trophy, according to NBA on ESPN:

Honestly? It's hard to argue.

Golden State's small-ball lineup with Green at center plastered the Cavaliers in three out of four games before Green's suspension, creating 104-89, 110-77 and 108-97 outcomes. The Warriors were so dominant, in fact, that it was almost not ridiculous to hear conspiracy theories floating around about the Warriors whiffing Game 3 so they could win the title at home. 

Ridiculous or not, the Warriors don't want to return home now.

A lot has to happen for the Warriors to lose Game 6. Irving has to keep knocking down silly contested shots, and James has to go for another 40 or more while getting trailed by Green—the guy who limited him to no more than 25 points in each of the losses.

The Warriors will also have to be terrible at their strength—deep shooting. Stephen Curry and Co. went just 14-of-42 from deep in Game 5, missing a whopping 19 shots from deep in the second half alone. The Warriors scored just 36 points over the final two frames of the game.

The defending champions and winners of 73 games will also have to ignore mistakes made, which doesn't sound like it will happen based on Curry's chat with the media ahead of Thursday, according to ESPN.com:

"

But for me, you kind of get a little edge about you trying to go back at them, but you've got to do it within the system of our offense and how we go about things and not get the temptation to abandon that just to get into the little back-and-forth, one-on-one. So that's kind of my approach. You enjoy those kind of moments, even though we didn't get the win. But an opportunity to go right back at them.

"

As much fun as a Game 7 would be, it just doesn't seem realistic.

One can figure out a trend from all the above—Cleveland didn't do much of anything different to nab Game 5 other than show up and take advantage of all kinds of Golden State mistakes. 

Provided those same mistakes don't resurface, Green's defense and disciplined shooting will have the Warriors out ahead early and never looking back.

These Warriors don't scoff in the face of a loss. The dominant playoff track record over the past two seasons agrees, as does winning a title on a foreign court last year. Which, coincidentally, the Warriors will do again Thursday with the small-ball lineup back to full strength and lessons learned from the loss.

Look for Curry and Thompson to combine for monster lines while Green puts on a ridiculous two-way show to reel in Finals MVP.

Prediction: Warriors 109, Cavaliers 104

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