Game 4 NBA Finals

Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Golden State Warriors -4.5; Total: 215.5

 

The Warriors will be looking to win their second straight NBA championship tonight as they hold a 3-0 series lead over the Cavaliers.  Cleveland is at home tonight which is the reasoning the spread for tonight’s game is just 4.5 points in a series where Golden State’s average margin of victory is 12 points.

 

Players to Watch

Golden State Warriors

Kevin Durant - There’s no question that Durant is the most important player on the floor for the Warriors as he averages 31.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.7 blocks against the Cavaliers this series.  Durant is shooting 55.9-percent from the floor, 47.4-percent from three-point range and an impressive 95.2-percent from the free-throw line.  Only LeBron has the ability to possibly stop Durant defensively but all of LeBron’s energy is focused on offense meaning Durant should have little trouble leading the Warriors in Game 4.

Stephen Curry - Curry is averaging 24.3 points with 6.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists in this series against the Cavaliers while shooting just 38.5-percent from the floor but a solid 39.5-percent from three-point range.  Curry is averaging 5.0 three-pointers per contest this series.  Curry really struggled in Game 3, shooting just 3-for-16 from the field for 11 points but the Warriors still won by eight.


Klay Thompson - Thompson is having a strong series against Cleveland, averaging 18.0 points while shooting 50-percent from the floor and 43.5-percent from three-point range.  Like Curry, Thompson struggled in Game 3, scoring just 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting as is usually the case for teams on the road but ultimately the Warriors just have too many weapons for the Cavaliers to win a game.

Draymond Green - Green has been stuffing the stat sheet per usual this series, averaging 9.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.0 blocks and 2.3 steals while shooting 52.4-percent from the field.  Like the rest of the Warriors team not named Kevin Durant , Green had a down performance in Game 3 as he scored just 10 points with nine assists and two rebounds.  I expect him to return to triple-double form to close out Game 4 for the Warriors.

Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James - James literally can’t do more to help the Cavaliers win a game this series as he is averaging 37.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 1.0 blocks, 1.7 steals while shooting 52.5-percent from the floor, 35.3-percent from three-point range and a playoff best 85.2-percent from the free-throw line.  He is the Cavaliers this series and though it is likely this series comes to an end tonight LeBron is far from the person to blame and quite honestly should be considered the MVP.

Kevin Love - Love is certainly rising to expectations during this series, averaging 21.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.3 three-pointers per game.  He is shooting just 43.1-percent from the field and 30.4-percent from the floor which aren’t great numbers, but it meets the standards we have for Love.  Another 20/10 performance should be on the books for tonight, but he and LeBron will need the rest of the lineup to step up if they hope to steal Game 4.

Rodney Hood - Hood played 26 minutes in Game 3 and is the reason the Cavaliers were in striking distance late in the game as he scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting.  Hood is a decent perimeter defender because of his size and length.  He is more than likely going to play at least 25 minutes tonight but should see more minutes if his shot continues to fall.  Hood is also a decent outside shooter after shooting 38.1-percent from three-point range during the series, but he has really struggled from beyond-the-arc this postseason, shooting just 14.3-percent.  If he can be a reliable third option for Cleveland tonight they could avoid the sweep.

J.R. Smith- How much can we really expect from J.R.?  He can get hot from beyond-the-arc and when he wants to he can play decent defense but as we saw in Game 1 the focus is not always there even when it matters the most.  Smith did score a personal series high 13 points in Game 3 but on a whole is averaging just 9.3 points while shooting 30.3-percent from the floor against the Warriors.

Pre-Game Props

Q1. The last made shot of the 1st Quarter is a two-pointer.

I am going to go with NO for this answer.  The Warriors especially tend to settle for three-point shots, but the Cavaliers are no strangers to shooting the three as well.  You also get a 4x multiplier for voting NO and that could be the difference between winning and losing the contest as the final prop to tally.

Q2: Which player scores more points in the 1st quarter LeBron James or Kevin Durant ?

I am going with LeBron here.  He is going to take most of the shots for Cleveland and seeing as this is an elimination game in Cleveland I have to expect LeBron gets off to a fast start.

Q3. Both teams combine for 60 points or more in the 1st quarter.

Only one game has hit the 60-point mark through the first three games but I am going to go with YES for this prop as each game has come awfully close, within a few points.  I expect this game to be the highest scoring total of the series.

Q4. Either team makes their first FG attempt.

I am going with YES for this prop.  Seeing how efficient LeBron James has been for Cleveland and Kevin Durant for Golden State have been this series I expect one of them to hit the first shot of the game.

Q5. Both teams make a three-pointer by the 10:00 mark.

I am again going with YES for this question.  I can see Golden State easily hitting a three within the first two minutes of the game but it would not shock me to see an answer by Cleveland either on their home floor.

Q6. Which team wins the opening tip off?

I am going with Golden State here, Kevin Love is not going to win the jump against anybody on Golden Sate.