Golden State Warriors: 5 Reasons To Resist Panicking
3. The Warriors Have Trailed 2-1 Before
In the Western Conference semifinals, the Warriors dropped Game 2 at home, just like in this series. In Game 3, they lost on the road against a hungry team looking to seize momentum, just like in this series. Against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Dubs faced a defensive team that tried to slow down the game, limit possessions and keep the scores in the 80s and 90s…just like in this series.
In that first series, the Warriors won three straight games to advance after falling behind 2-1. The odds are against them in the Finals, but is it wrong to think if any team can overcome the odds, it’d be this historically great Dubs team?
The Game 3 winner when the finals is tied 1-1 has gone on to win the series 31 of 37 times (83.8% of the time). #ELIAS
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) June 10, 2015
Overcoming a 2-1 deficit in the Finals against this superior Cavs team is obviously far more difficult than doing it in the Western semis against a Memphis team that’s been watching the playoffs from their couch for weeks now. But as much as the “they’ve been here before” reassurance is taking it a tad too far, it’s worth noting that the Warriors have been in a hole this postseason and prevailed.
In fact, the Warriors didn’t lose three games in a row all season long. Perhaps the sense of desperation that comes with trailing 2-1 in the Finals is the exact wakeup call this team needed.
For the Warriors to win this series, they'll have to violate my first-to-win-back-to-back rule... twice. Violated it vs. Memphis in Round 2.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 10, 2015
Next: No. 2