It had the makings of being a Boston blowout. The Cavs came out and played zero defense and had a real tough time making shots. They were getting booed going into the locker room and deservedly so.

I know that this will sound homer-like, but the refs were awful. They called ticky tack fouls and then missed blatant hard fouls. The section I was in went quiet when LBJ drew his 4th foul midway through the 2nd quarter. Only two of his four fouls were legitimate, but then he could have easily been called for a few fouls in the 2nd half. LeBron's size continues to be to his disadvantage as he regularly gets mugged going to the hole.

The Kyrie end of 3rd quarter buzzer beater was the dagger IMO. Irving went down in front of our seats earlier in the 3rd quarter and I thought he blew out his knee. He immediately clutched his leg, so it was a relief to see him get up. KI's drives to the hoop and the English he puts on his shots are incredible.

The atmosphere was great. I had never been to a playoff game this deep into the postseason.

Thanks Goombah,

When the Cavs need a bucket...the past two games..Bron lowers his head and drives to the rim..gets hacked by multiple people and refs refuse to call fouls. NBA doesn't want players to flop, but if you don't, the refs aren't forced to call fouls.
Lack of foul calls also leads to bad blood and rough play in a series.

Bad officiating and makeup calls and non calls the entire game. On the dunk that Bron missed...when Love threw the pinpoint outlet pass, Al Horford basically crosschecked him.....ref was right there...no call.

*After the game, when Love was talking to TNT crew.....they showed a tweet saying that Kevin Love is the best QB in Cleveland.

I thought it was over when Kyrie went down, and I instantly thought of you in the arena gasping for air. Glad when he got up, and started aggressively driving to the rim. Also glad when they started posting Lebron up on the blocks.

I went 2-0 in round three (14-0 overall). Finals prediction:

-Golden State over Cleveland

I at least hope this is a good series and not a sweep or 5 game series. I'm hoping it goes at least 6 and I'll be happy for Durant if he's able to get his ring. I'd be happy for LeBron and Cleveland too if they went back-to-back.

This is the Finals everyone wanted, including myself. As bland as the playoffs have been to this point, I expect things to pick up significantly now.

3 straight years......and 7 straight years for Lebron

in fact,,,,just sticky the comment for the next 2 years.

Irish & Blonde,
Let's hope it lives up to the billing. Only competitive series that I noticed was Boston/Wash.

Camarel,
That's a good stat about this being the first three-quel NBA finals. I would have lost that bet if somebody told me it hadn't happened before.


Anybody think GSW is at a disadvantage by not having Kerr out there on the floor to make on the fly adjustments and drawing up plays?

Hours away from tipoff.

I think as the series wears on, Kerr's absence will be notable but not so much initially.

If I was to bet on the series, I would be inclined to wait after Game 1 and then get odds and bet Cleveland. I expect the Warriors to win tonight but for Cleveland to rebound and pull out the series. The key for me is the LeBron-Durant matchup and I expect LeBron to wear him down and figure him out over the course of the series.

The game was close in the first half but Golden State came out too strong in the 3rd and Cleveland played no defense. It seemed to me the layoff affected Cleveland but not Golden State. Cleveland didn't score it's first points of the second half until four minutes into the third quarter, while Golden State was going on a run.

Tristan Thompson was completely outmatched in Game 1. I shut it off at halftime. GS got so many easy uncontested buckets that I knew once they started hitting jumpers the Cavs were done.

Nobody other than Kyrie & LBJ scored for the Cavs. I expected more out of Korver and Love. I think Lu needs to bring in Frye to spell Thompson so that GS has to not bog the middle. Otherwise this series will be over quickly.

Cavs lost the first game last year correct? We got this. Believeland!!!

Yes they did Mig. I believe they lost the first 2, won Game 3, lost Game 4, and then won the last 3.

"It's deja vu all over again"Yogi Berra

REFs F-ing up big time!!! Game 4 was like watching the 3 stooges refereeing a game.

Dantay Jones gets a T while on the bench...Pachulia throws groin punches twice at Shumpert..in FRONT of ref....no T

First Draymond is called for a T for pushing Shumpert's face....then when he gets a T in second half...they say the first T was on Steve Kerr.

DISGUSTING!!!

Yeah, the officiating was bad. It won't matter though. It'll be over on Monday.

Irish,

Cavs can't do anything with Bron resting, and he can't play the full game.....so I think you might be right,Irish.

However, the pressure is on the Warriors. Tristan played well last game, RJ on KD was a good adjustment..and Kyrie Irving is in full attack mode and GSW has no answers.

And in full deja vu moment....relative of a Warriors player is AGAIN....outright accusing the nba of rigging the game ..this time Draymond Green's mother is doing it.

also let's see if NBA suspends Pachulia for the groin punches.

Cleveland definitely came out more aggressive yesterday, but I don't see Cleveland winning in Oracle Arena. That's one of the toughest places to win in. Golden State does not want to go back to Cleveland for a Game 6. Look for them to strike early and hard like Cleveland did in Game 4.

I was so disgusted after the way Cleveland gave Game 3 away that I did not watch Game 4. Sounds like a horribly officiated game. I did check the score a few times last night and felt that no Cavs lead is safe. I fully expected the Cavs to get
blown out in Game 4.

I think Cleveland's approach has been all wrong this series. They should have attempted to slow the game down rather than play a track meet. The Cavs are more physical and that is to their advantage in a slower pace.

I don't expect the Cavs to win Monday, but I'm glad GS didn't make it through the playoffs undefeated. If the Cavs can somehow win 5, then this will go 7.

Rooting for the series to be extended.Hope NBA put a better officiating team together for this game, that last game was embarrassing to the league.

Not sure if it qualifies as "better," but it's the same crew that worked Game 1.

Goombah,


ANY three refs are better than the last crew,

For a guy with a bad back...Steve Kerr sure ran off the bench quickly when he got the phantom T last game, heheheheheh.


I expect a great game,LET'S GET IT ON!!!!

Lived up to the billing.Cavs fought but were too tired at the end.

gotta cut/waive Shumpert right away.....he's useless out there.
JR Smith finally showed up. Korver wilted in the spotlight.Deron Williams is another useless player who made rookie mistakes the entire series.Love showed up half the time, but blew too many open looks.

Lebron is a magician to have carried THIS set of guys into the Finals.

Cavs got nothing from their bench. Refs blew one when KD put a hand on LeBron's face during a dunk. Should've been KD's 3rd foul mid 2nd qtr.

Unless something drastic happens, it's hard to imagine these teams not meeting again next year. This would be terrible for the league as a whole.

I could see Tristan Thompson moved in effort to obtain Paul George or Jimmy Butler. I would also like the Cavs to pursue Wiggins. He has the chance to be the East's version of Khwai Leonard.

Goombah,

Yes. Blatant missed call. How do you get hit in the face on a dunk with no call? Would have had to sit Durant with 3 fouls and DEFINITELY would have altered how the game played out.

Wiggins is who they moved for Love,right? It was a good move at the time because Cavs were making title run and you go with the proven guy over the rook. That's a good comparison to Leoanrd because from what I've seen...Wiggins has to tools to be that kind of all around player.Hope he has heart to go along with that talent,like Leonard does.

Cavs bench players have NO heart...Bron is going to take the blame whether they hit or miss wide open shots and these clowns choke ANYWAY.

Shumpert was in the corner for a wide open three and hit the G.D. side of the backboard.

I think NBA gms have to actually earn their money now. Fans can tell whether teams are just trying to sell game tickets/jerseys or trying to build contenders.Should be a busy summer for the teams that really want to win .

Yes, Love was dealt for Wiggins. I agree that the deal had to be made - always take an All-Star over potential. But Wiggins is coming up on the end of his rookie deal next year. LeBron should recruit the kid hard. Wiggins came out of college as a premier defender and his offense was just a bonus.

Cavs GM Griffin doesn't have a contract. There is serious speculation he won't be back. Not sure if it's Gilbert or if Griffin wants the challenge of building a new team.

Cavs got nothing from their bench this entire series. Korver shrunk, Williams and Shumpert threw up bricks and played no defense, and they kept roster spots for guys like the other D. Williams and James Jones without them seeing any playing time.

If I were Dan Gilbert, I would take the approch that LeBron could bolt after next year. It's time to give him a bench of 10 deep of legitimate players, along with an emphasis on defensive minded players.

The Cavs didn't lose because Golden State hit massive amounts of three pointers but because of the plethora of easy shots. While Klay Thompson struggled most of the postseason scoring, he made up for it with top notch defense.

Just heard on the radio by a long time Republican sports announcer saying that The Golden State Warriors have declined the invite to the White House. I thought the guy was going to be angry, but nope he is a life long fan of the Magics and can not stand Trump in the White House. I would not be surprised if he was pressured to make some type of an apology, but he is from that old school thought of mind and represents his own views. He did say the refs were blind in a couple of the games.

Goombah,

I agree.While it's nice to keep a roster spot for a friend of Bron's....that James Jones spot has to go to somebody who can contribute.

The Shane Battiers and Mike Millers of the world helped Miami win those rings.Gotta have guys like that on your bench to stand a chance to win.

What's your take on the current GM...is it right to axe him?

Gets,

I don't think it would classify as being fired if Griffin leaves. My sense is that he wants (justifiably IMO) to be paid as a top executive. Dan Gilbert prints money, so I would be surprised if it ends up being a standoff about money.

I also think Griffin wants to build a team, which is why he was looking at Atlanta. But they hired a GM, so there's not a lot of jobs out there.

In the past 3 years, the Cavs have gotten player deals done late (Thompson, JR come to mind), so this may be the same thing.

If I were Griffin, I would look for an exit option since this team will have its cupboards bare in 3-5 years when LeBron retires. The "win now" approach has left them with practically no assets.

Kyrie Irving is a class act.

Kyrie Irving surprises dad with a home renovation for Father's Day

What moves do you think Cleveland needs to make to get past Golden State next year? In my opinion, they don't have the roster depth that Golden State does. Korver no showed and JR Smith had some good shots but those 2 guys aren't enough in my opinion. I wonder if Cleveland would entertain trading Kevin Love for Carmelo Anthony? The Knicks want him gone and Melo wants a chance at a ring. Even if they made the trade straight up, I don't think it'd be enough to beat Golden State in a 7 game series because of Melo's defensive limitations. Been hearing Paul George's name thrown around as well but even with him I still don't believe it'd be enough.

If the Cavs gave up anything more than a #2 pencil for Carmelo, it would be too much. He's a me-first guy who can't play a lick of defense. The only guy on NY I would consider for Love is Porzingas.

I wouldn't give up Love because where do you replace the rebounds he provides? And as a #3 option in the offense, he's still a great scorer vs. 28 teams in the NBA - just not vs. G.S. I would see is Chicago would trade Jimmy Butler or Indiana Paul George in exchange for Tristan Thompson and either Shumpert or J.R. Smith. I would also like to see the Cavs pursue DeMarcus Cousins.

While he didn't have a good season, I will give J.R. a pass this year. He and his wife had a premature baby that was born at one pound. The baby is still fighting, but that has to be a gut wrenching experience for any parent.