NBA Finals 2018: TV Times, Live Stream Schedule for Cavaliers vs. Warriors

It's deja vu all over again.

Again.

Familiar NBA Finals foes the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are back to battle in the championship round for the fourth straight year. It's the series most predicted in October, but one that looked less likely as each club encountered an uncharacteristically tough road out of their respective conferences.

The two teams combined for one loss through the first three rounds last year. They dropped seven total in 2016 and just five in 2015. This postseason, they lost at least five games each and suffered 11 defeats together.

Even still, both are back in their normal places at the mountaintop, and one is four wins away from its latest world title. Since Golden State and LeBron James are each already regarded as historic powers, this has legacy implications for both sides.

2018 NBA Finals Schedule and Broadcast Info

Game 1—Thursday, May 31: Cavaliers at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ABC; streaming on WatchESPN

Game 2—Sunday, June 3: Cavaliers at Warriors, 8 p.m. ET on ABC; streaming on WatchESPN

Game 3—Wednesday, June 6: Warriors at Cavaliers, 9 p.m. ET on ABC; streaming on WatchESPN

Game 4—Friday, June 8: Warriors at Cavaliers, 9 p.m. ET on ABC; streaming on WatchESPN

*Game 5—Monday, June 11: Cavaliers at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ABC; streaming on WatchESPN

*Game 6—Thursday, June 14: Warriors at Cavaliers, 9 p.m. ET on ABC; streaming on WatchESPN

*Game 7—Sunday, June 17: Cavaliers at Warriors, 8 p.m. ET on ABC; streaming on WatchESPN

*if necessary

The King's Greatest Challenge

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For the eighth team in as many seasons, James has delivered his team to the championship round. But he has never shouldered more weight than this.

His previous trips always included major assists from an All-Star sidekick, be it Dwyane Wade in Miami or Kyrie Irving the last three years in Cleveland.

But James is basically playing solo at this point. He scored more than three times as many points as any of his teammates in the conference finals (235, next closest was Kevin Love's 75). James sat just 48 minutes of the entire seven-game series. He also held or shared the team lead in rebounds (63), assists (59), steals (eight) and blocks (eight).

"LeBron is amazing," Stephen Curry said, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. "It's unbelievable to think about the consistency and longevity and greatness that he's shown."

Unbelievable also fits as a descriptor for the odds facing James.

The Warriors opened as minus-850 favorites and moved to minus-1,100 favorites shortly thereafter, per OddsShark. Golden State is the largest favorite in at least 16 seasons, per ESPN's David Purdum.

If James somehow found a way to win this series, perhaps that would put the greatest-of-all-time discussion firmly in his favor. It's just virtually impossible to imagine that happening.

Irving participated in this same matchup last year, and Cleveland was unceremoniously bounced with a 1-4 record and a minus-34 point differential. Oh, and Kevin Love didn't close the 2017 conference finals in the concussion protocol like he did this year.

James has worked miracles before, and it's always dangerous to doubt him. But this is a challenge unlike any he's previously faced.

All Pressure On Warriors

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Golden State knows it's in an enviable position. It's hard to do any complaining while rostering four in-prime All-Stars.

But the pressure on this team to perform is monumental. Show any sign of weakness—and this season's group displayed more than usual while fighting against injuries and complacency—and suddenly the sky is falling, and the roster might need reworking.

These don't have to be real vulnerabilities, either. The Warriors are graded on such an impossibly high curve that a listless performance every now and again is enough to trigger their critics.

"We were supposed to win every game we played this year," Warriors general manager Bob Myers said, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "Every single game. That's, I guess, the position you want to be in. But there's a weight to that."

As far as external credit goes, Golden State is embarking on a thankless task.

No one will offer as much as a pat on the back for surviving a championship collision with James—at least the best player of his generation, maybe all time. Just look at what these ESPN scribes said a Warriors' win—their third championship in four years—would mean:

• "Inevitably reigns," Royce Young.
• "Things played out as expected!" Kevin Pelton.
• "Water is still wet, the sky is still blue and Bruce Leroy still beats Sho'nuff only in the movies," Andre Snellings.

Sure, Golden State still gets the Larry O'Brien trophy and another opportunity to parade through the Bay Area. But outside observers will hold the Warriors merely did what they were supposed to do.

And if they stumble at any point? Hot takes will rain down like they're being fired from a t-shirt cannon. If they thought they had it rough with a summer of 3-1 jokes, they'd find out what rough really is by failing to capitalize on these super-sized odds.

Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.