Warriors vs. Cavaliers: Latest Comments and Odds for 2018 NBA Finals
The Golden State Warriors are on the verge of rolling to their third NBA Finals victory in four seasons.
Similar to the past two matchups with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors head to Ohio with a 2-0 series lead, and with everything going in their favor, a sweep isn't out of the question.
After winning Game 1 in overtime, the Warriors cruised past the Cavaliers in Game 2 to create separation between themselves and the LeBron James-led Cavaliers.
Although they've been the dominant team in the series, the Warriors are only favored by five points, per OddsShark, entering Wednesday's Game 3.
The only thing the Warriors haven't been able to control is the production of James, who added 29 points and 13 assists in Game 2 to his 51-point performance in Game 1.
As any competitor would be, James is frustrated he wasn't able to power the Cavaliers to a victory at Oracle Arena, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
"It sucks to lose," James said. "It sucks when you go out there and you give it everything that you have and you prep and your mind is in it and your body is in it and you come out on the losing end."
The Warriors adjusted to James' play from Game 1 and made it a little more difficult for the future Hall of Famer to get to the basket in Game 2.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr employed Draymond Green and Kevin Durant as the main defenders on James, and it appeared to cause Cleveland's superstar some difficulty, per NBA.com's Steve Aschburner.
"We at least made him somewhat uncomfortable at times," Kerr said. "I mean, you've got to do your best. You've got to pressure him. You've got to know he's going to end up with 30 points and a triple-double and all that stuff because he's that good. But we just made things a little more difficult for him tonight."
Green and Durant have been tasked with stopping James due to the absence of Andre Iguodala, but one of Golden State's top defenders could be back on the hardwood before the end of the series, per ESPN's Chris Haynes.
"I'm optimistic Andre will play at some point in the series," Kerr said. "He has gotten better gradually, but there's no way of knowing for sure at this point."
In order for the Cavaliers to turn the series around with a win in Game 3, they'll need more contributions from the supporting cast surrounding James and Kevin Love.
Golden State's tight defense is one of the reasons why the Cavaliers' top three-point shooters—including Kyle Korver—haven't found a rhythm yet, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
"We know with Korver, since he's been here they do a good job of locking into him," Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue said. "Anything we run for him, they switch out, deny and take it away. So if he's not getting shots, it's tough on him because he's not going to beat too many people off the dribble."
Since nothing else has worked for the Cavaliers, Lue should give Rodney Hood, who averaged 16.8 points per game a year ago with Utah, a chance to shine off the bench.
Hood could be the X-factor in Games 3 and 4, and even further along in the series, but he's had trouble finding the court, as he's played four minutes and 12 seconds against Golden State.
If Cleveland's role players produce at a similar level as Golden State's JaVale McGee and Shaun Livingston did in Game 2, the Cavaliers stand a chance to put themselves back in the series.
However, if Golden State continues to find a way to hold James around 30 points and no else steps up, the Warriors could be in position to clinch the title with a sweep in Game 4.
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Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference.
