Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 4 vs. Cavaliers
4. This Series Is Not Over Yet
In our haste to auction off an NBA Finals MVP Award that should really be accompanied by a separate NBA Playoffs MVP Award, we’ve neglected to point out one crucial point: The Golden State Warriors haven’t won anything yet.
In Game 3, the Cavs shellacked the Dubs by 30 because they brought their A-game and a sense of desperation, while the Warriors were complacent. Golden State responded appropriately in Game 4, but with this series already feeling like it’s over, isn’t it possible they aren’t 100 percent focused on the task in front of them again just like they were heading into Game 3?
That’s not to say their prospects of closing in Game 5 aren’t good, because recent history indicates they certainly are. Even if the Dubs don’t win Game 5, in NBA Finals history, no team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit, with teams who have fallen into such a hole going 0-32.
The Warriors are now 16-2 from Game 4 on in a series the last two years. Note for Monday's Game 5: They're 10-0 from Game 5 on.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 11, 2016
The Dubs were the better team in Game 4 Friday night by virtue of an NBA Finals record 17 three-pointers, not to mention a combined 63 points from the Splash Brothers, but they can’t let up off the gas just yet; there’s still work to be done.
The Dubs took care of business by picking up the split on the road. They are one win away from basketball immortality, in a building where the Dubs are 50-3, where they won the first two games of this series by 48 points, and where their reserves will feed off the crowd.
But until the clock strikes zero and the confetti starts falling, the Warriors still have one last job to do.
Next: No. 3