Golden State Warriors: 5 takeaways from Finals Game 4 vs. Cavaliers

Golden State Warriors: 5 takeaways from Game 4 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Jun 9, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the fourth quarter in game four of the Finals for the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

3 of 6

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Warriors not reliant on threes, but need smaller disparity

That Cavaliers’ ceiling says nothing of median outcomes. It requires both Irving and James to go off, and at least two of Cleveland’s shooters to go off.

Golden State’s offense is still better. It creates higher-quality looks on a night-in, night-out basis by not only taking and making threes, but leveraging its shooters to create better looks at the rim and for others.

The Warriors are also miles ahead of the Cavaliers defensively. If both teams are shooting at something close to a normal level, the Warriors will generally generate more turnovers, block more shots and force less favorable looks for Cleveland than the other way around.

In Game 4, that level was not close to normal. The Cavs were 24-of-45 from deep (53.3 percent) and the Warriors were 11-of-39 (28.2 percent).

If those numbers get close in Game 5, the Warriors will have the advantage, even if Cleveland’s stays higher. That the Warriors lost by 21 in Game 4, while being outscored by 39 from three, supports that theory.

Home/Golden State Warriors