Put the brooms back! This Cleveland Cavaliers team refuses to go down without a fight.The crowd in Quicken Loans Arena erupted after the final buzzer sounded in what became an essential victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The series is now 3-1, with the Warriors still in control. Fortunately for the Cavs (and fans of basketball in general), the NBA Finals are not over. As I've stated in a previous article, the Cavs needed to step their game up if they were going to defeat the Golden State Warriors, and they definitely stepped it up last night. The Cavaliers got sick and tired of losing, and their performance in Game 4 showed that. They made 24 three pointers, which is an NBA Finals record. LeBron James put up big numbers as usual with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. James broke Magic Johnson's record for the most career triple-doubles in NBA Finals history. Kyrie Irving, though! Uncle Drew gave everybody BUCKETS with a whopping 40 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kevin Love and J.R. Smith showed out as well with 23 and 15 points respectively. Tristan Thompson? Well, at least he's there... I'm not someone who believes in curses, but this "Kardashian Curse" brewing on the internet just might be affecting his game.
How could the Warriors let this happen to them? This was Golden State's chance to be cemented in history as one of the most dominant NBA teams ever. They could still win the series in Game 5, but a 4-0 sweep of the LeBron-led Cavaliers would've had a nice ring to it. Oh, well. Tough break. They'll have another chance to finish the Cavaliers on Monday, June 12th. Kevin Durant proved his greatness once again with 35 points, but he seemed like one of the few notable performers on the Warriors side of the stat line. Stephen Curry had 14 points, which is below average for him. Draymond Green had 16 points and 14 rebounds, which was impressive. Klay Thompson had 13 points, which was cool or whatever, but it obviously wasn't enough for the Warriors to get the job done. So, where do we go from here? We wait and see what happens on Monday, of course! The Warriors still have a 3-1 lead, so be sure to keep that in mind. All it takes is one more game for the NBA Finals to be over, with the Golden State Warriors as the new champion. LET'S NOT FORGET, THOUGH. We all said the same thing last year when the Warriors had a 3-1 lead, and the Cavaliers are currently the defending NBA Champions. If any team can defy the odds and make history, it's this Cavs team led by LeBron James. It's going to take even more effort for them to do so, but never say never. If I learned anything from last year's series, it's that the impossible can be made possible in basketball. We are witnessing living legends with LeBron, Steph, Kyrie, and KD all on the same court. Something historic and legendary could come out of this series. We're just going to have to wait and see. Will the Cavaliers continue their aggressive assault and continue an epic comeback, or will the Warriors respond with the knockout blow?
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Game 4 is TONIGHT. The series is 3-0. Will the Cavaliers begin their comeback, or is it time to get the broom?It's quite unfortunate how this series has turned out so far, at least for the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James is playing lights out, averaging 32 points, 10.3 assists, and 12.3 rebounds. The man is literally averaging a triple-double, and it still isn't enough for the Cavs to defeat the Avengers of the NBA, the Golden State Warriors. I refer to them as the Avengers, because they seem absolutely unstoppable. The Avengers have Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor leading their charge, while the Warriors have Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green leading theirs. From what the world has seen so far, the Cavaliers are no match for the Warriors. It seems like their assault is simply too much for the Cavaliers to handle.
The Cavaliers historically overcame a similar 3-1 deficit last year, though. While this is true, it's also important to know that the deficit wasn't the same as a 3-0. In 2016, the Warriors won Game 1. They also won Game 2. Then, the Cavaliers bounced back in Game 3 to change the series deficit to 2-1, which is a different scenario than the 3-0 one they face today. Then, the Warriors won Game 4, which changed the lead to 3-1, and you know the rest of the story. The Cavs are the defending NBA Champions, but it seems like they're about to get their title snatched away from them like it's lunch money. The odds are against the Cavaliers once again, but will they be able to come back from such a deficit? According to SportsCenter, teams that have a 3-0 lead in a seven game series in any sport are 126-0 all time. SHEESH. Those are some heavy odds for the Cavs to face, but they faced similar odds last year when they overcame a 3-1 lead. The Cavs aren't facing the same Warriors team as last year, though. They have to deal with this guy named Kevin Durant this time around, and it's safe to say that the man can BALL. Durant's been giving the Cavaliers buckets throughout the entire series, averaging 34 points per game. LeBron is going to need more help from his teammates if he expects to receive his 4th NBA Championship this year. Cavs' power forward Tristan Thompson had games where he has scored zero points (Yes, games. Plural. As in he's done this more than once). Point guard Kyrie Irving has played well, but he will have to step his game up if he doesn't want to get swept. LeBron James can't beat the NBA Avengers by himself. He needs help. Period. Game 4 is on tonight at 8 PM EST on ABC. Is it time for us to get the brooms out, or will the Cavs somehow find a way to begin a miracle comeback? 6/8/2017 Stop Comparing Kevin Durant's Arrival in Golden State to LeBron's Arrival in Miami.Read NowKD's Situation is MUCH Different from LeBron's. Enough with the Comparisons.It is June 8th, 2017, and the NBA Finals have been an interesting series to watch. After all, it's the most anticipated NBA Finals in years, if not decades. Unfortunately, it hasn't been as entertaining as many other recent NBA Finals series, including last year's legendary 3-1 comeback led by LeBron James. This time around, the Golden State Warriors have DOMINATED this series. Game 1? 113-91, Warriors. Game 2? 132-113, Warriors. Game 3? 118-113, Warriors. Arguably the greatest contributor to the Warriors success, Kevin Durant is often blamed for "ruining" the competitiveness of the Finals this year. He departed from Oklahoma City and signed a two-year/$54 million contract with the Golden State Warriors. After all, he IS a former MVP who just joined Stephen Curry (another former MVP), Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Zaza Pachulia. Yeah, the Warriors are STACKED, and it's shown through their performances in this year's Finals. Because of their dominance, people often compare them to the legendary Miami Heat teams of years past who were led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. That is completely understandable. It's okay to compare the two teams. We're human, after all. It's in our nature to compare teams that seem similar to each other. The Warriors have been led by three definite future Hall-of-famers: Steph, KD, and Klay, and the Heat teams of years past have also been led by three definite Hall-of-famers listed earlier. The Heat won NBA titles because of the trio in 2012 and 2013 before LeBron left for Cleveland and Wade left for Chicago, and it is highly likely that the Warriors will win just as many if not more in the future. HOWEVER, the circumstances were different for Kevin Durant in 2016 and LeBron James in 2010. Before LeBron James arrived to Miami in 2010, the Heat's record was 47-35. They did make the playoffs, but they were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. When Kevin Durant arrived to Golden State, the Warriors were fresh off a historic 73-9 season and were one game away from being the 2015-2016 NBA champions. Then, we ALL know what happened (cue the 3-1 lead jokes). It wasn't like the Warriors weren't already an amazing ensemble. They would probably be in the Finals again this year, with or without KD. Now that Kevin Durant is on the Warriors, it seems as though they can't be beaten in the NBA Championship for years to come. Let's also not forget one VERY important thing to mention when it comes to comparing LeBron and Kevin Durant's situations: Kevin Durant joined the team that prevented him from going to the NBA Finals. LeBron didn't. Durant's former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, were also one game away from playing the Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, and it wasn't like Durant didn't have help. He had Russell Westbrook, who is easily one of the best players in the NBA. Durant just didn't deliver for the Thunder, and they lost to the eventual NBA Champion, the Golden State Warriors. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" That's exactly what Durant did when he went to an already great Warriors team. When LeBron left Cleveland, he didn't go to the team that beat him, the Boston Celtics. Remember that team? The one with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett? Imagine LeBron James on THAT team. Imagine the public reaction to such a decision. However, LeBron didn't do that. He went to another team in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat, and eventually beat that Celtics team on his journey to winning two NBA Championships. We need to stop comparing the situations of KD and LeBron. It could all be so simple. We could acknowledge that when LeBron left for Miami, it was completely different from Kevin Durant's arrival to Golden State. There's nothing wrong with that. Maybe their departures from their original teams affected their legacies in negative ways, but they were still under different circumstances. We'll see how Durant's run with the Warriors plays out, but until then, there shouldn't be comparisons between him and LeBron. It's a ridiculous and false comparison for people to make, and it should be silenced. Will Durant win a ring as a result of his big decision? We'll find out on Game 4 of the NBA Finals tomorrow at 8 PM EST on ABC! First of all, I'd like to say thank you to whoever is reading this. Your support means a LOT to me, and it is much appreciated. As an aspiring sportswriter, I've always dreamed of starting my own platform to share my work on. The dream of Golden Standard Sports had always been on my mind, but today, June 8th, 2016, that dream has become a reality. I'm looking forward to starting this amazing experience with you all. With that being said, this is the beginning of something very special. Golden Standard Sports is officially born. "What exactly IS Golden Standard Sports?" Well, this is what's up. On this website, many different topics will be addressed. Sports will obviously be the main topic, but the beautiful thing about them is how easily they overlap with other topics such as pop culture, social issues, politics, religion, Etc. Therefore, there will definitely be subtopics other than sports for greater audiences to appreciate and enjoy. I'm just going to tell you now, this page will get LIT at times. I want to make sure that the articles posted on Golden Standard Sports have a certain edge to them so that the readers don't get bored. Trust me. As a college student, I can tell you that reading a boring article is almost as bad as being trapped in a bathroom stall during the last two minutes of a close basketball game. (No, that's never happened to me, but it does sound like a trashy experience. You get my point.) It would be a shame if any article Golden Standard Sports puts out is labeled as "boring," so that ain't happening. Not here. Not ever. "Not in my house," as the great Dikembe Mutombo once said in that Geico commercial we all remember. Ideally, something will be posted on this page every 1-2 days, but sometimes, that may not be the case because of schedule conflicts. (We ALL get busy, right?) Bear with me, though. There will be something posted at least once per week. Once again, I appreciate each and every last one of you. I'm looking forward to this journey with you.
-Jason Hewitt. |