NBA Finals 2017: Cavaliers vs. Warriors TV Schedule and Game 3 Live Stream
How quickly the debate turned to superteams.
All it took was the Golden State Warriors blowing away the Cleveland Cavaliers over the first two games of the 2017 NBA Finals to renew the discussion about who is to blame.
For Kevin Durant, whose sheer presence is so far deciding these Finals, he told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck that LeBron James, the guy he's currently running circles around, "paved the way."
Rather than pointing blame, though, fans should want to soak up two of the better teams going at it for at least two more games. Here is a look at some of the details to know ahead of Wednesday's Game 3.
2017 NBA Finals
- Game 3: Golden State at Cleveland, Wednesday, June 7, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming on WatchESPN
- Game 4: Golden State at Cleveland, Friday, June 9, at 9 p.m. on ET ABC, streaming on WatchESPN
- Game 5 (if necessary): Cleveland at Golden State, Monday, June 12, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming on WatchESPN
- Game 6 (if necessary): Golden State at Cleveland, Thursday, June 15, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming on WatchESPN
- Game 7 (if necessary): Cleveland at Golden State, Sunday, June 18, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming on WatchESPN
Game 3 Storylines to Watch
Unleashing Shump
The Cavaliers don't have a choice but to get creative with how they attack Durant.
Durant is simply running the Cavaliers ragged, averaging 35.5 points per game and wearing out LeBron to the point the King is visibly gassed near the end of the game—and his increased rest periods mean more time for Golden State's superior second unit to extend leads, but more on that in a moment.
The focus here is stopping Durant. LeBron hasn't been able to do it on his own, and it has hampered his ability to carry the team offensively.
According to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin, the master plan is to play Iman Shumpert on him more: "Even with the cramping, Shumpert's play, coupled with J.R. Smith's disappearing act in the series thus far, has the Cavs considering a lineup change at shooting guard for Game 3, the source said."
Then again, maybe the Cavaliers want to cast some unpredictability on the matter because head coach Tyronn Lue said "We're not going to change our game because of who we're playing," according to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon.
It's clear the Cavaliers need to make changes, though, and the willingness to do so is a large reason they came back from 3-1 last year.
Granted, given the next point, it might not matter what adjustments the Cavaliers make if the end result isn't getting LeBron some help.
LeBron's Supporting Cast
Even a King can't do it all by himself.
LeBron averaged north of 40 minutes per game while breezing through the Eastern Conference. Easy—he didn't have to play a team where he needed to act as the primary stopper against the opponent's best player each time down the court.
But now he does, and he's getting little in the way of help from his teammates on the offensive end of the court. Through two games, here are some interesting numbers for notable names:
- Kyrie Irving: 75 minutes, 43 points
- Kevin Love: 64 minutes, 42 points
- Tristan Thompson: 43 minutes, eight points
- Kyle Korver: 43 minutes, eight points
- J.R. Smith: 42 minutes, three points
- Deron Williams: 33 minutes, zero points
LeBron simply isn't getting the help he needs. Love struggling against the Warriors isn't anything new, but Irving looks a little lost, or at least slow out there, at times.
He had a telling quote recently, per the NBA:
Really, what's happening to LeBron on the defensive end of the court and how it impacts play on the offensive end happens to everyone on the roster, just on a lesser scale.
But in past years, Love has shown up with the timely defense or Irving with the big shot. Through two games, there hasn't been a hint of anything similar.
If it doesn't materialize soon, another 3-1 comeback won't be in the cards.
Keeping the Pedal Down
Naturally, the biggest talking point for Golden State is staying focused.
"But we are here, we're more focused on what happened last year like in terms of we were up 2-0 and we came here and the series shifted. That's the important lesson, not any historical benchmarks or anything like that," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com).
Fans should expect nothing less than this sort of chatter from the Warriors this year after the 3-1 mishap. Draymond Green followed a similar path, according to USA Today's Sam Amick:
“There's no feeling of, ‘We're almost there. You got to play every game like you're down. I think if you can keep that mindset you'll eventually reach the goal. But to say we're up 2-0, (so) we're good? Like, we still got two more games to win and those two will be way harder than the first two. So we just got to stay locked in like we have been."
While the Warriors are saying the right things, it's more about how they're doing the right things. Game 2 saw Stephen Curry and Co. turn the ball over 20 times, yet they won the battle on the glass 53-41 and shot not only 51.7 percent from the floor, but 41.9 percent from deep, hitting on key runs whenever the Cavaliers tried to cut it close.
The lesson here? No matter how much it seems like the Warriors have the series well in hand, the guys are quite aware of the potential pitfall awaiting them again—especially on the road in Game 3.
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