OAKLAND, Calif. -- There’s no denying the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James, at the moment, appear to have a mental edge over the rival Golden State Warriors. Overcoming a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to secure Cleveland’s first championship in 52 years and coming back from a 14-point deficit on Christmas Day certainly adds credence to that notion.
The Warriors have gone an NBA-record 126 regular-season games without losing a back-to-back, but the Cavaliers claimed a back-to-back-back against them on the grandest stage of all.
Indeed, Cleveland has defeated Golden State four consecutive times dating to June. In that span, two-time MVP Stephen Curry has averaged more turnovers (4.1) than assists (3.6). And most of his turnovers were of the flashy, high-degree-of-difficulty sort. Against most teams, he can get away with converting the razzle-dazzle highlight play. However, the Cavaliers have the defensive scheme and personnel to disrupt Curry, especially if he's careless with the ball.
Cleveland often will trap Curry on the pick-and-roll, hoping he tries a circus pass rather than making the routine one out of the double. Frequently enough, he chooses the former, and the results haven’t been favorable for the Warriors.
In the aftermath of that Finals series, James again solidified himself as the unequivocal best player in the game. All of a sudden, he’s comfortable taking subtle jabs at his West Coast counterpart, which brings us to that legendary Halloween party he hosted in October.
The highly creative decor that made headlines featuring Curry and Klay Thompson tombstone cookies and a skeleton prop with “3-1 lead” inscribed on the bass drum wasn’t James' idea, sources close to the four-time MVP told ESPN. According to sources, James instructed his people to come up with something clever and artistic with a budget of approximately $150,000 for an invite-only gathering consisting of roughly 40 guests. He found out about the Warriors theme upon arrival.
Regardless of who came up with the Halloween concept, the Warriors didn’t find it funny. That’s why Monday’s game at Oracle Arena on Martin Luther King Jr. Day should mean more to the them from a mental standpoint.
A mid-January Warriors victory won’t completely rectify what has transpired in the teams' previous four meetings, but it could be something to build upon if these teams are to meet again in June for the third straight year. No teams have ever met in the Finals three consecutive times.
Will Cleveland give Golden State an opportunity to clear its mental hurdle on Monday? It would be the ultimate mind game if the Cavs were to rest James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
“The only thing we can do is play,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said when asked about such a move. “Whoever is out there is out there.”
League sources told ESPN that some within the Cavaliers' organization briefly pondered sitting out the trio, but the desire to improve and gain valuable repetition against one of the NBA's elite teams trumped that logic.
It will be the Warriors' final chance to garner some type of edge on the Cavaliers. Barring a catastrophic turn of events or a game-changing trade, it appears to be a three-team race -- along with the San Antonio Spurs -- toward the NBA Finals.
After that Christmas Day loss in Cleveland, an irate Kerr said that Curry needs to make better decisions with the ball. That was a bit out of the norm. You’ll hear coaches say that about a first- or second-year player but seldom about one of the game’s best.
That’s how much Kerr wanted that game. The Warriors coughed it up on 19 occasions.
“We turned the ball over [too much on Christmas]," Kevin Durant said. "I want to say 10 or 12 points in transition where we could have had layups and we turned it over trying to thread the needle. I think we just need to keep it simple, make correct passes, and we’ll be fine. I thought defensively we were solid that game, but we can’t give teams extra possessions when we turn it over. It’s a big emphasis for us.”
It’s not a life-or-death basketball scenario, but Golden State needs a win on Monday more than its opponent does. Right now, it’s just a four-game losing streak. But add a couple of more L's, and the reality just might be that one team happens to be the superior one.
We’ll see on Monday.