The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cavs need history to repeat itself down, 2-0
The NBA Finals shift to Cleveland for Game 3, and the defending world champion Cavaliers find themselves in the spot as 2016, down, 2-0. David S. Glasier explores that and other topics in his notes.
It’s all about recent history as the Cavaliers host the Warriors on June 7 in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals.
Tipoff at Quicken Loans Arena is 9 p.m. Golden State has a 2-0 lead in the best-ofseven series.
The Cavaliers are counting on history repeating itself as the teams clash in the Finals for a third straight year.
In the 2016 Finals, Golden State raced to a 2-0 lead in the series with two lopsided wins at Oracle Arena, 104-89 and 110-77. The Cavs pounded the Warriors in Game 3 at The Q, 120-90. The Warriors pushed the Cavs to the brink of elimination with a 108-97 victory in Game 4, also at The Q.
LeBron James & Co. then made NBA history by taking the next three games, two at Oracle Arena, to become the first team in Finals history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit and win the title.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr met with reporters June 6 as both teams practiced at The Q.
For obvious reasons, he would prefer this season’s Game 3 break a different way for his team.
“They just took it to us right from the beginning,” Kerr said of Game 3 in 2016. “I remember our offense was pushed back to halfcourt the first few possessions.
“I think it was the nature with which they won that game, the force they brought,” Kerr added. “They blew us out. I thought that gave them confidence and their crowd confidence. We came back and won Game 4 in a great effort and had them right where we wanted them, but I think Game 3 gave them confidence. And, obviously, everything changed in Game 5.”
The Cavs prevailed in Game 5, 112-97.
Warriors point guard and two-time MVP Stephen Curry said he and his teammates will carry memories of last year’s Game 3 defeat into this year’s Game 3.
“We can learn how thin the line is between success and failure,” Curry said. “You got to understand what’s at stake every possession from the jump.”
Praise for his predecessor
Kerr was asked to delineate his contribution to the Warriors’ emergence as a formidable defensive team as well as an offensive juggernaut.
“I didn’t. Mark Jackson did, honestly,” Kerr said.
Jackson, now a TV analyst for NBA telecasts on ABC and ESPN, was coach of the Warriors from 2011 to 2014. He was fired and replaced by Kerr, who has guided Golden State to three straight appearances in the NBA Finals.
The Warriors downed the injury-depleted Cavs in the 2015 Finals, 4-2.
“When I was on TV doing Warriors games, every year they were one of the worst defensive teams in the league,” Kerr said. “Mark came in and made a focus of being a tough, defense-minded team.”
Take no chances
Durant was barely five minutes deep into his session with reporters when loud, thumping noises began to emanate from the air ducts directly above his seat on the stage. He finished answering a question over the noise, but when the thumping persisted, a technician looked toward the rafters and motioned for Durant to leave the stage. The noises stopped shortly thereafter.
Pricey ducats
With all games in the NBA Finals sold out well in advance, purchase prices for tickets being sold in the secondary market become barometers for the interest level in a series.
The online service TickPick has been monitoring sales and adjusting its average and get-in prices for Games 3 and 4 at The Q.
By late afternoon on June 6, the average and getin prices for Game 3 were $1,078.52 ($1,587.22 on June 5) and $316 ($310.71 on June 5). For Game 4, those prices were $1,513.34 ($1,752) and $433 ($405)
TickPick’s average prices for Games 1 and 2 at Oracle Arena were $1,819.94 and $2,103.43.
Vivid Seats released its ticket pricing trends for Game 3 and 4. They were $911 and $868, respectively. Games 1 and 2 were $1,160 and $1,231, respectively.
TV ratings ascendant
Viewers didn’t seem to mind the Warriors posted emphatic wins in Games 1 and 2 of the third straight and highly anticipated NBA Finals showdown between Golden State and the Cavaliers.
The A.C. Nielsen Co. audience measurements had an average of 19,602,000 viewers in the total live audience (TV and streaming). That is up 13 percent from last year’s average of 17,756,000 viewers after Games 1 and 2.