Chapter No. 4 will go to Golden State

“I guess this is the last chapter for our team in this season,” Cavaliers star LeBron James told reporters in Boston after the Cavs eliminated the Celtics, 87-79, in Game 7 on May 27. “It’s been a whirlwind. I mean, it’s been Cedar Point.”

James then had to explain to reporters not from Ohio what Cedar Point is and how it is famous for roller coasters — an apt metaphor for the Cavaliers’ season.

Roller coasters can be thrilling rides that send a rider’s heart into overdrive. They can also make one’s back ache when they come to a sudden, jolting halt, ending the ride too soon for some. That is what will happen to the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Again.

James did everything he could to get the Cavaliers to this point. For the most part, so have his teammates. The Golden State Warriors are just better. They have too many weapons for the Cavaliers to disarm in a seven-game series.

Warriors guard Steph Curry, the smirking, mouthpiece muncher Cavs fans love to hate, and his Golden State teammates will eliminate the Cavaliers in six games — fewer than that if the Cavaliers don’t play their best basketball for four quarters every night.

After that, the worrying about what James will do when the free agency window opens on July 1 will begin. For now, all the Cavaliers are thinking about is finding some way to stun the Warriors like they did in 2016 when they overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the final three games — two of them in Oakland — for the only championship in franchise history.

I can still recall vividly the look of defeat in the eyes of Golden State guard Klay Thompson two years ago when the Cavaliers won Game 6 in Cleveland, 115-101, to tie the series 3-3.

It was as though he knew the Cavs would win game 7 (93-89) two days before they did. So the Warriors’ will can be broken, but it will be much more difficult this time.

One difference between that 2016 Finals and what awaits the Cavaliers in Game 1 on May 31 in Oakland is the Cavs no longer have Kyrie Irving and the Warriors still have Kevin Durant.

Signing Durant on July 7, 2016, three weeks after giving up the championship to Cleveland, is how the Warriors responded to losing to the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers traded unhappy Irving to Boston in late August of 2017 and have been in scramble mode ever since, precipitating James’ reference to the Cedar Point roller coasters.

Durant scored 38, 33, 31, 35, and 39 points in the five games against the Cavaliers in the Finals last year and was named Finals MVP. He did not play to his usual standard in Games 3 through 6 against Houston in the Western Conference finals this year, but when the Warriors needed him in Game 7, he scored 34 points, blocked three shots, dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds.

The Cavaliers found no answer for Durant last year and still don’t have one— unless Jeff Green can stop him. Green wasn’t with the Cavaliers last year.

Curry, Durant and Klay Thompson have the balanced scoring to counter phenomenal performances by James in the Finals. If the Cavaliers hesitate a moment making defensive switches, the Warriors will make them pay on the scoreboard.

On the subject of defense, according to ESPN, Golden State is the most improved defensive team in the playoffs. The Warriors are allowing 4.5 fewer points per 100 possessions in the playoffs than it did in the regular season (99.7 compared to 104.2).

That’s quite an accomplishment considering the teams they’re meeting in the playoffs are better than the ones the play in the regular season.

The Cavaliers are the second-most improved defense in the playoffs. They allowed teams 109.5 points per 100 possessions in the regular season and whittled that number to 105.9 while facing the Pacers, Raptors and Celtics in 18 playoff games. None of those teams have the offensive power the Warriors possess.

It has been a thrilling ride for the Cavaliers, but they are about to exit the amusement park without even a stuffed animal as a souvenir.

Contact Schudel at JSchudel@News-Herald. com; On Twitter: @jsproinsider.

DAVID J. PHILLIP — ASSOCIATED PRESS The Warriors’ Kevin Durant holds the Western Conference trophy as he and Draymond Green celebrate with teammates after defeating the Rockets in Game 7.