6-1-17 at Warriors

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#CavsWarriors Game 1 Road Game Watch Party

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Wrap-Up -- The problem with facing the Warriors has always been their ability to quickly turn a small lead into a large one. And that’s exactly what they did in Game 1 of the 2017 Finals – transforming a competitive contest at intermission into a second-half blowout.

The Cavaliers and Warriors went toe-to-toe through the first quarter, hinting at the heavyweight battle that was about to unfold. But Golden State opened the gap in the second period and pulled away in the third -- handing the Wine &amp; Gold their worst loss (and first road defeat) of the postseason – a 113-91 decision on Thursday night at Oracle Arena.

In their third Finals matchup with the Warriors, Cleveland has now dropped the first game in each meeting.

Tyronn Lue knew that his squad couldn’t afford to turn the ball over against the high-octane Warriors, but that was easier said than done in Game 1 – with Cleveland committing 20 miscues that led to 21 Golden State points.

”We talked about it before we come into this series, that our best defense is going to be our offense, of taking care of the basketball, not a lot of turnovers,” lamented Lue. “And tonight we had 20, and that's way too many against this team.”

And as familiar as these two teams are with each other come June, there’s a colossal difference between this year’s Dubs and the team Cleveland’s battled against in previous seasons.

”KD” answered LeBron James, succinctly, when asked what the biggest difference between this showdown and the previous two.

Kevin Durant seemed to control the game from the opening tip and after throwing down three essentially uncontested dunks in the first half, the Cavaliers didn’t initially offer much resistance.

When the smoke cleared, the former MVP went on to lead both squads with 38 points – going 14-for-26 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from long-range and 7-of-8 from the stripe – adding eight boards and eight assists in the win.

The Cavaliers were paced by LeBron – who finished with 28 points on 9-for-20 shooting to go with 15 boards, eight assists and a pair of blocks. But James also committed eight of Cleveland’s turnovers, part of the reason Golden State was able to outscore the Cavaliers, 27-9, on the fastbreak.

Kyrie Irving followed up with 24 points, going 10-of-22 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long-range. But both he and LeBron did most of their damage in the first half.

They weren’t alone in their second-half struggles. The Cavaliers shot just 32 percent in the decisive third quarter and had an even rougher time in the fourth, shooting 28 percent in the period.

The Big Three combine for 77 points as the Cavs fall in Game 1.

”There's no way can you simulate the Warriors offense, so when you come out here, and no matter how greatly prepared you are, you know going against them and being in a game is totally different,” said the four-time All-Star. “So I'm glad that we got Game 1 out of the way. And to have this type of game and have an effort that we put forward, there's definitely some things that are correctable.”

Overall, the Cavaliers made just 13 shots after halftime – netting three more turnovers (8) than assists (5) in the second stanza.

Kevin Love rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures, tallying his sixth straight double-double with 15 points and a Playoff career-high 21 boards, grabbing five off the offensive glass.

But like many of his teammates, Love struggled to shoot the ball – connecting on just 4-of-13 from the floor. Cleveland’s two other starters didn’t fare any better.

J.R. Smith’s triple to open the game were his only points in Game 1 – going 1-of-4 on the night. Tristan Thompson, who averaged a double-double against Golden State in last year’s finals took the collar on three shots – going scoreless and grabbing just four boards in 22 ineffective minutes.

Off Cleveland’s bench, Richard Jefferson went 3-of-6 from the field for nine points, but Cleveland’s remaining reserves shot a combined 3-of-18 in the loss.

Steph Curry was the only other Warrior in double-figures – finishing with 28 points on 11-for-22 shooting, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Curry also handed out a game-high 10 assists on the night – just five fewer than the Cavaliers posted as a team.

Between the 2017 Playoffs’ two top-scoring teams, neither one shot particularly well in Game 1.

The Cavaliers shot 35 percent from the floor and 36 percent from long-distance; the Warriors, 43 and 36 percent, respectively. But Cleveland’s turnovers and Golden State’s hot-shooting third quarter was the difference on Thursday night in Oakland.

Turning Point -- It’s essential to “stay attached” to the high-powered Warriors – not allowing them to bust an otherwise tight game wide open. But the Cavaliers were unable to keep a lid on Golden State in the third period on Thursday.

Cleveland trailed by just eight – 60-52 – at half, but Durant opened the second scoring with a triple – keying a 13-0 run to start the second half – putting the Cavaliers down three TDs before they knew what hit them.

The Cavs canned back-to-back threes to get themselves back into the flow and when Kyrie Irving scored on a layup with 3:06 to play in the period to cut Golden State’s lead to 12 – 80-68 – it seemed like the Wine and Gold was right back within striking distance.

But Durant and Curry led the Warriors on a 10-0 run from there – and the Cavs would find themselves back down 21 as the third quarter came to a close.

”We just didn’t start that third quarter like we felt we were capable of and needed to,” said Kevin Love. “We said before the series started that they’re a team that’s capable of runs, and they showed that tonight in the third quarter. We kept fighting and fighting, but they never looked back.”

By the Numbers – 18.6, 12.9 … Kevin Love’s scoring and rebounding numbers over his last eight Playoff games – doubling-up in seven of those contests while shooting .465 from the floor, including .519 from long-distance.

Quotable – LeBron James, on Cleveland’s Game 1 loss in Oakland …

”It's great to get the first game up underneath us. We made a lot of mistakes; they capitalized. And we get an opportunity to get a couple days to see what they did and see what we did wrong and how we can be better in Game 2.”

Up Next -- After dropping the Finals opener, both teams will square off again on Sunday night before the series returns to Cleveland for the next two – with Game 3 slated for Wednesday, June 7 and Game 4 going down on Friday, June 9. From there, the Finals go 1-1-1 – with Game 5 on June 12 in Oakland, Game 6 on Thursday night back at The Q and Game 7 the following Sunday night, June 18, on the West Coast, if necessary.

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Warriors Big Third Sinks Cleveland in Finals Opener

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#CavsWarriors Game 1 Photos - June 1, 2017

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Derrick Williams' First Foray into the Postseason Leads Him to the NBA Finals

by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
6/1/17 | Cavs.com

Much has been made about Deron Williams and Kyle Korver’s first trip to the Finals, and rightfully so. The duo has logged a combined 189 postseason games with nine combined teams to reach the NBA’s biggest stage.

But for Derrick Williams, this is his first taste of winning, making his first Playoff appearance after five seasons with some of the league’s recent cellar-dwellers and a short stint with Miami earlier this year.

And whereas Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson ascent from the top of the 2011 Draft to this point, D-Will’s has been a rocky road.

”A lot of ups and downs from the first few years that I've been in this league,” explained Williams. “The biggest change in my career so far is I've been on a few other teams with not too much veteran leadership, and with these guys – Bron, K-Love (even though I played with K-Love in Minnesota, we were both obviously very, very young at that time). RJ, Channing Frye, the list can go on with the amount of guys that are 30-plus that are 10 years in the league and that can really teach me how to prepare for this game.”

After being taken with the second overall pick by the Timberwolves in 2011, the former Arizona standout spent two seasons in Minnesota before being dealt to the Kings early in season three. After a pair of underwhelming years in Sacramento and a single season in New York, Williams began this season with Miami.

He was released in early February by the Heat and, days later, inked a 10-day deal with Cleveland – joining the squad at the end of a tough four-game road trip in Oklahoma City.

Derrick Williams holds up the Eastern Conference Finals trophy on his 26th birthday.
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The Cavs fell to the Thunder that night. But Williams went 3-for-3 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the stripe in his 21-minute audition.

Williams went on to net double-figures in six of his next 11 outings, helping get the injury-bitten Cavaliers through a rough stretch of the season and parlayed a pair of 10-day deals into a run for the Ring.

Williams admitted before Cleveland’s opening practice of the Finals what an eye-opening experience this season has been.

”Obviously it is my first Playoff experience, but, man, it's been a long time coming,” beamed the man who captured the Eastern Conference Championship trophy on his 26th birthday. “(The) first five years, they weren't looking good for the Playoffs. Even this season with Miami at first, and, boom, we're in the Finals now.

”Everything happens for a reason. It's good karma, bad karma. This is the good side of it. I think that we're ready to play and ready to make a name for ourselves.”

As most Playoff teams do, Tyronn Lue has gone with an eight- or nine-man rotation – with Iman Shumpert, Kyle Korver, Deron Williams and either Channing Frye or Richard Jefferson.

But on a loaded team like the Cavaliers that’s gone four rounds en route to the Finals for the past three seasons, rotations are often in flux.

“This is the time, this is the place. This is where you make your name. This is where you make a name yourself, for your team, for your family.”

Ask Frye – the Cavaliers’ current franchise Playoff leader in three-point percentage – (.524, 46-84) – who picked up a pair of DNP-CDs in the Boston series and three straight to end last year’s Finals.

Matchups change from series to series and throughout the series. And although Williams hasn’t seen any action outside of mop-up duty in the 2017 Playoffs, that doesn’t mean that he won’t be called upon. Dahntay Jones, for example, barely played in last year’s postseason – but came up with clutch contributions during a short stint in Game 6.

The Warriors are an unorthodox opponent and operating at high-tempo is when Williams is at his best. At this point, games come down to two- and three-minute stretches, single possessions, single plays.

So, if Coach Lue looks down and makes the call for the man who, on a team of high-fliers, is called “Flight” – he knows he’ll be ready to roll.

”Yeah, you’ve got to be ready – there's no time for thinking if I’m ready or not ready,” concluded Williams. “This is the time, this is the place. This is where you make your name. This is where you make a name yourself, for your team, for your family.”

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Feels Like the First Time

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The time for talking is just about over as the two most dominant teams in each Conference square off for the third straight season when the 2017 Finals tip off on Thursday night in Oakland.

Both teams come into the contest on a major roll. Cleveland dropped just a single contest in reaching their fourth NBA Finals in franchise history; Golden State not only came through the Western Conference bracket unblemished, they’ve dropped just one game of any kind since March 14, winning 27 of 28.

Aside from their Game 3 hiccup at The Q, the Wine &amp; Gold mauled the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals – beating them by an average of 30 points in Boston, not allowing them to take a home lead at any point in the series. The Wine &amp; Gold have won nine straight Playoff road contests – second-longest streak in NBA history – dating back to Game 5 of the 2016 Finals, when the Cavaliers did the unthinkable, handing Golden State three straight losses, including two back here at Oracle Arena.

The three-time combatants have split their two-game series this year – with the Wine &amp; Gold winning a Christmas Day thriller, rallying from two TDs down in a classic at The Q before being trounced in Oakland, wrapping up a West Coast roadie on MLK Day.

Although this is the title trilogy – the first time it’s happened in any professional sport in over 60 years – there’s one major difference between this year’s matchup and the previous two, and that is obviously Kevin Durant.

The 2017 Finals will be his second trip –having faced (and lost to) LeBron James and the Heat as a member of the Thunder in 2012.

In his first year having bolted for the Bay, Durant averaged 25.1 points on a career-best 54 percent from the floor. Despite missing 19 games, Durant was named All-NBA Second Team. The 10th-year forward – drafted 2nd overall by the Sonics in 2007 – fit in seamlessly in his first year with the Warriors, netting career-highs in shooting, blocks and boards.

Although there’s sure to be cross-matching all over the floor throughout the series, for the sake of Keys, let’s go with the matchup of Durant against LeBron (although Number 23 will definitely see plenty of Draymond Green).

James comes into the Finals playing some of – if not the -- best basketball of his career, coming off a game in which he won the Eastern Conference for the seventh straight year and broke the NBA Playoff scoring record on the same night.

LeBron nearly single-handedly led the Cavs to the East title in 2015 with a herculean performance for the ages and last year he finished the job – leading Cleveland in every major statistical category – averaging 29.7 points, 11.3 boards, 8.9 assists, 2.57 steals and 2.29 blocks per contest – winning MVP honors and killing a curse that lasted over half-a-decade.

What can the 13-time All-Star do for an encore? There doesn’t seem to be another level of greatness that he can reach – but 14 years into his future Hall of Fame career, the King continues to raise the bar.

There’s a spot on the floor of Oracle Arena that both Cavalier and Warrior fans will always remember: the spot where Kyrie Irving stepped back and drilled the game-winning bomb with 53 seconds to play that gave Cleveland the 92-89 lead and eventually Cleveland’s first Championship in 52 long years.

In the seven-game classic, Irving averaged 27.1 points per – with he and LeBron becoming the first duo since Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in 1963 to average at least 27.0 ppg in the Finals, punctuating that point in Game 5, when he and James notched 41 points apiece in a do-or-die contest in Oakland.

Kyrie didn’t shoot the ball particularly well through the first two rounds, but he caught fire against Boston – averaging 25.8 points, shooting .622 from the floor and 50 percent from long-range.

Kyrie – who scored at least 23 points in every game of last year’s Finals and hit the game-winner on Christmas Day at The Q – comes into this year’s best-of-seven feeling very confident against two-time MVP, Stephen Curry, in what promises to be another must-see matchup between two of this generation’s best point guards.

Curry’s stats weren’t as mind-blowing as they’ve been in the past, but he still led the league’s most explosive team in scoring and has been even better in the postseason, leading Golden State in scoring in eight games while notching at least 20 points in 10 straight Playoff contests.

He comes into the Finals as the Playoffs’ third-leading scorer, but he knows he’ll have to go hard on both ends if the Dubs want to take the trophy back from Cleveland.

Seven All-Stars will line the floor when the 2017 Finals tip off on Thursday night, but in any series, both team’s benches will play a pivotal role in who takes home the hardware.

The Cavaliers have some new major pieces with the second unit this season – Deron Williams and Kyle Korver, making the first Finals appearance of their careers. They’ve got 189 postseason contests between them, so it’s not like the moment will be too big.

After a slow start with the Cavaliers, Williams has been exactly the playmaker that Cleveland needed when they made the mid-season deal with Dallas – averaging .542 from the floor, including .500 from long-range and .909 from the stripe in the 2017 Playoffs. Korver has shot .415 from beyond the arc in the postseason, and we saw in Games 3 and 4 how quickly he can explode – going 11-for-15 from the floor over the final two games of the Second Round.

Iman Shumpert was the Cavaliers’ starting 2-guard in the 2015 Finals, and his role off the bench in 2017 will be just as critical on the defensive end.

Channing Frye’s been excellent for the Cavs over the past two postseasons – shooting .548 from long-distance, tops in franchise history. But he got two DNP-CDs in the previous series against Boston and closed last year’s Finals with three straight.

Game One might tell us how Tyronn Lue intends to use his bench in the series.

The Warriors have a couple usual suspects – Sixth Man candidate Andre Iguodala and Shawn Livingston. Both have hurt the Cavaliers in a major way over the past two postseasons, with Iguodala taking Finals MVP honors back in 2015.

JeVale McGee has actually had a solid postseason, netting double-digit scoring in four games and using his length to alter the game. David West, one year removed from his stint in San Antonio, gives the Warriors a solid interior presence they lacked when these teams squared off last June.

Continuing his finest season in three years as a Cavalier, Kevin Love comes into this year’s Finals on a roll -- doubling-up in all five games of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The four-time All-Star averaged 22.6 points and 12.4 rebounds against the team that ended his postseason and kept him from facing the Warriors in the 2015 Finals. Against Boston, Love shot .486 from the field, .535 (23-of-43) from downtown and .870 (20-of-23) from the stripe.

Over the course of the postseason, he’s lived up to his part as a member of Cleveland’s devastating Big Three – with Cleveland’s triumvirate averaging a combined 78.0 points per during the Conference Finals.

Love posted pretty pedestrian numbers against Golden State last year, but he came up huge when it mattered most – leading both teams with 14 critical rebounds in Game 7 and coming up with the biggest single defensive stop in Cavaliers franchise history.

At some point, Draymond Green will match up with Kevin Love – and just about everyone else on the floor. The lead candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA Third Teamer led the league in steals and was the top assist man on a team that led the league in assists.

Green can do it all, but he can be as volatile as he is versatile – and his hijinks cost him Game 5 in last year’s Finals. He’s talked about his desire to annihilate the Wine &amp; Gold since last June’s loss. On Thursday night, he gets his chance.

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KeyBank Five Keys: Cavaliers at Warriors, Game 1

Cavs.com

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Behind-the-Scenes from Finals Game 1 Practice

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Cavs.com's Sunshine Analyst Checks in from The Bay

Aloha, bold and beautiful ones! It’s me, an Optimist, checking in from the Barbary Coast. Are y’uns ready?

OK. I know what some of you are thinking: ‘Hey Optimist, what kind of fresh hell is this?! You showing back up on the eve of the NBA Finals …”

And I have not one, but two, ironclad alibis: One, I was seeing a man about a dog. And two, I was having coffee with the boys.

There. If that doesn’t suffice, then I don’t know what else to say to you people.

Sure, it’s been a while since I whipped out my ink-tipped quill and penned a piece. I suppose I felt that now that we’d won Championship, the training wheels were off and my services were no longer needed. Heck, all the Junior Optimists have grown up and moved off to college!

I’ve even packed away TheBron’s Angry-o-Meter.

Today’s millennials don’t want to do meter-readings! And unless Draymond Green does so in the coming days, not a single foe has poked the bear this offseason. It only took 12 years in the Playoffs, but Eastern Conference opponents have finally figured it out: one minute, you’re poking the bear; the next minute, your GM is packing up a box.

I’m going to keep it at the ready, just in case Draymond Green tries any of his below-the-belt shenanigans. But I’m expecting a good, clean series betwixt the Association’s two best teams.

The way the Cavaliers have been playing in this postseason actually hasn’t required any optimism whatsoever.

Who needs a Playoff Beard™ when you’ve got the best player on planet Earth in full flower? Or when you’ve got a red-hot Kevin Love averaging a double-double in the postseason or an equally-scorching Kyrie Irving two games removed from a 42-point outburst?

Tristan Thompson is the top offensive rebounder in the postseason, giving the team that averaged almost 117 points per that many more possessions. Swish and Shump are laser-focused on the defensive end. Off the bench, the triumvirate of Kyle Korver, Deron Williams and Channing Frye is shooting a combined 48 percent from way downtown.

Our beloved Cavaliers – who’ve won nine straight road games in the Playoffs – overcame a 25-point halftime deficit against Indy and they scored over 100 more points from long-range than the Raptors.

In the Conference Finals, Cleveland thumped the top-seeded Celtics in they own gym by 30 points per – not allowing them or their insufferable fans to enjoy a lead at any point in Boston. (That’s what they get for throwing an egg at mi hermano and former Cavs Graphics Director, Mark Podolak, during a Playoff game two years ago. An egg!!!)

My boy, Podes, doesn’t care about the Conference. He’s worried about the Warriors – who’ve had an even more impressive march to this year’s Finals.

I’m aware of that fact. I’m also aware of the fact that the Larry O’Brien Trophy’s aurelian glow still beams over CLEVELAND.

We are the Champions, my friend. Our Cavaliers took the Warriors to six games with TheBron and Delly two seasons ago. Last year, they beat a 73-win squad three straight to win the NBA title.

So I say: Playoff Beard, Schmlayoff Beard!!

Shave away! I hope your face is smoother than a baby’s buttucks. The Cavaliers will still take us to the Promised Land. And your best girl will appreciate that clean, close shave along the way.

So, no, you folks definitely don’t need any extra optimism from me at this point.

I’m not here to set strategy. I’m just here to provide a firm – but in no way intimate – crack on your rear end that says: “Let’s defend the Land, yo!!
Photo by The Optimist

This is more like a special guest trying to fire up the locker room – like Urban Meyer bringing in TheBron to fire up the Buckeyes or our new friend, Matthew McConaughey firing up the Longhorns.

I’m not here to set strategy. I’m just here to provide a firm – but in no way intimate – crack on your rear end that says: “Let’s defend the Land, yo!!”

Because this is more of a check-up than a full-fledged procedure, I’m going to pay heed to our historical milestones only because skeletal PR know-it-all Jeff “Schaef” Schafer demands this column provides some sort of redeeming educational value.

On This Date – May 31 – in History, the last Model-T rolled off the Ford assembly line after producing over 15 million vehicles, Madison Square Garden opened to the public and Vanity Fair magazine revealed that former FBI Deputy Director Mark Felt was the anonymous whistleblower, “Deep Throat,” in the Watergate scandal.

And, of course, if it’s a day that ends in “Y” that must mean that Ghengis Khan sacked and marauded another hapless nomadic tribe – this time, the Cumans at the Battle of the Kalka River.  Never a dull moment with that guy!

Today’s Birthdays include super-heavyweights like Clint Eastwood, Joe Namath, the great John Bonham, iconic goalie Jim Craig, Walt Whitman, former Indian Kenny Lofton, former Cavalier Matt Harpring and former and current fox, Brooke Shields.

Notables Dead on This Day and, by all scientific and medical logic, are Still Dead include Petronius Maximus – who was stoned by an angry mob on his way out of town after just 78 days in office – as well Jean Stapleton, Tito Puente, Terry Sawchuk and Timothy Leary. Today also marks the passing, in 1321, of Birger, King of Sweden – who, contrary to popular belief, is not the founder of Burger King in Sweden – where they call the Whopper with Cheese “DeWhopper with Cheese” and they put the mayonnaise on their french fries.

Now that that’s taken care of, I feel like we’re ready to rumble. Our well-girded loins looked locked and loaded and now it’s time to play ball and see who’s best.

Until we do, I’m going to enjoy my time away from the game in the beautiful city of San Francisco. Of course, I’ll be traveling with my personal security detail – fellow Garbage Heights paisan, Joe Vitanza.

Sure he’s not as intimidating or skilled in the deadly arts as some of the Cavs player’s bodyguards – who’ll crush your larynx and/or coccyx faster than you can say ‘Zarko Cabarkapa.’

No, I won’t insult our full-time badasses by comparing Joe V to them. They’re pros. He’s just a vicious little animal from my hometown who knows how to protect the Cleveland of Cleveland’s greatest asset.

Cavs in 6 – “Cleveland, This is For You, 2: Electric Bugaloo”!

Depending on how things go with Draymond in the first two games, I’ll see about unpacking and dusting off the Angry-o-Meter. Right now, it’s lodged between the E-Master™ 1500 E-Mailing Machine and “Big Bank” Hank Egan’s old Highlight-Pro Model 950 8mm film projector, which ran on diesel fuel.

Other than that, I think my work here is done.

In conclusion, some of you might think that I’m going to guarantee a victory in Game 1 on accounta it’s Joe Namath’s birthday. But I’m not. I’m nobody’s minstrel.

No … I’m gonna go ahead and guaran-damn-tee the Whole Enchilada.

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The Optimist in the Finals

A Guide to the Wine and Gold's Title Trilogy Against the Warriors

by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
5/29/17 | Cavs.com

Now that the Cavaliers are at the 2016-17 season’s end-game – making their third straight trip to the NBA Finals – can we make a deal with ourselves to remember the conclusion of the Eastern Conference Finals next season – and remind each other not to fret about locking up the No. 1 seed?

The Cavaliers cruised through their Conference bracket – wrapping up the East with their third straight blowout of the Celtics in Boston – shredding the homecourt argument by beating Brad Stevens’ squad by an average of 30 points per on their home floor.

In the C’s three home games, they never led at any point.

The Warriors were even more dominant in their trip to a third straight Finals appearance – beating opponents by an average of 16.3 points per. Of course, getting past San Antonio wasn’t quite as tall a task sans one of the league’s top two-way stars – Kawhi Leonard – who went down with the Spurs leading by 26 points in Game 1. (Not to mention the absence of Tony Parker.)

Injuries are a part of the Playoffs – and have been a factor in the Finals over the past two seasons. Cleveland limped into the 2015 Finals – with Kevin Love missing the entire series and Kyrie Irving, lost in overtime of Game 1. Last year, the Warriors lost Andrew Bogut to a left knee injury early in Game 5.

But in this year’s title trilogy, both squads are rested, ready and red-hot – with the Wine &amp; Gold suffering just a single hiccup along the way and the Warriors going unblemished through a dozen Western Conference matchups.

In the East bracket, LeBron James continued to demolish franchises along the way – leaving the Pacers and Raptors re-examining their blueprints. Only the Celtics – who own this year’s top overall pick and could very well repeat that feat next June – have come through LeBron’s reign of terror with a solid plan for its conclusion.

Before he left Cleveland after the 2009-10 season, his dominance of the Conference put an end to the Pistons and Wizards hopes. Since his return, he and the Cavs have left the Hawks wondering.

The Cavaliers can worry about the East again in late October. They’ve got bigger fish to fry right now – and they embark on their title defense this Thursday night in Oakland.

While the Wine &amp; Gold gear up for what promises to be another epic showdown with the Dubs, here’s the postseason’s final primer – a Finals Primer …

In the 2016-17 regular season, Cleveland and Golden State split two games with each team winning on their home floor.
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

1. The 2017 Finals will truly be an historic matchup. No two teams have ever come into the Championship series having gone a combined 24-1 along the way (or has ever started the postseason with 12 straight wins). And no two NBA teams have ever met in the Finals in three consecutive seasons.

The last time two pro teams faced each other in three straight title contests was the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadians, who faced off for the Stanley Cup from 1954-56. Before that, it was the Cleveland Browns against the Detroit Lions (1952-54) and before that, the New York Yankees vs. the New York Giants (1921-23).

There is one thing that separates those matchups from Cavs-Warriors, however. They’re the only foes that have split the first two meetings.

2.  In the 2015 Finals, the already-shorthanded Cavaliers were dealt a tough hand in terms of travel – getting just a single day between games in Oakland, heading back home in Cleveland – after Game 2 and Game 5. On the flight home after Game 5, exhausted players were literally lying in the aisles.

Last year, the NBA lightened up the travel schedule, giving teams plenty of rest between games – and thankfully that’s the case again this year.

The Cavaliers will travel out to Oakland on Tuesday to get situated, with a big media blitz on Wednesday and Game 1 set for Thursday night at Oracle Arena. Game 2 goes down on Sunday evening before the series returns to Cleveland for the next two – with Game 3 slated for Wednesday, June 7 and Game 4 taking place on Friday, June 9.

From there, the Finals go 1-1-1 – with Game 5 on June 12 in Oakland, Game 6 on Thursday night (June 15) back at The Q and Game 7 the following Sunday night, June 18 – Father’s Day once again.

All games – except for the Sunday matchups – will tip off at 9 p.m. EST. Sunday games begin at 8 p.m.

The Cavaliers 2017 Finals appearance will be a first for a trio of veterans. Two are good friends who’ve been to the postseason with the same team before. One has never been to the Playoffs before.

Kyle Korver had played in 91 Playoff games before he got to Cleveland – with the Sixers, Jazz, Bulls and Hawks. Deron Williams played in 72 games with the Jazz, Nets and Mavericks. For Derrick Williams, this is his first foray into the postseason.

After winning the East title last Thursday in Boston, LeBron talked about how great it was to see the looks on their faces after finally reaching the Finals. But James was more in all-business mode on Sunday afternoon.

”It motivated me to get them to that point, but now they’ve gotta take over – now I gotta do my job,” said the four-time MVP. “So it’s motivating to help the guys who’ve never gotten a Finals appearance or a guy like (Derrick Williams) who’s never been to the postseason at age 26. But now the onus is on them to figure out how they can be best for the team.”

4.  In two head-to-head matchups between these two teams …

December 25 The Cavaliers met the Warriors on Christmas Day for the second straight season – but the results this year at The Q were very different.

A little more than six months after completing the greatest comeback in Finals history, Cleveland wiped out the Warriors’ two-touchdown fourth quarter lead, capping the rally with Kyrie Irving’s turnaround over Klay Thompson with 3.4 to play and giving Cleveland the heart-stopping 109-108 win at The Q.

Golden State extended its lead to 14 points on Kevin Durant’s pull-up jumper early in the fourth. But the Wine &amp; Gold began whittling away the lead – tying the score on Kyrie’s layup with 2:18 to play and taking the 105-103 lead on LeBron James’ monster smash one possession later.

After a Warriors turnover, and without an available timeout, the Cavaliers put the ball in Irving’s hands – and the three-time All-Star put Klay Thompson into the spin cycle before knocking down a 13-foot fadeaway to seal the deal.

Just to show how far the NBA has come in under 20 years, the 2017 Cavaliers averaged 116.8 points in the postseason. Mike Fratello’s Cavaliers averaged 80.7 points per game – and they still gave Indiana all it could handle in the 1998 Playoffs.

Irving notched 14 of his 25 points in the final period, going 6-of-11 from the floor in the fourth, 11-for-27 overall.

Playing in his 11th Christmas Day game, LeBron led the Wine &amp; Gold with 31 points and 13 boards – going 12-for-22 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from three-point range.

January 16 It’s almost unheard of for Cleveland’s entire Big Three to have a really rough night simultaneously. But in the Cavaliers’ recent MLK Day visit to Oakland, that’s exactly what happened.

As a team, the Cavaliers looked like a team wrapping up its longest trip of the season – shooting 35 percent from the floor and 27 from beyond the arc while committing four more turnovers (15) than they had assists (11).

When it was all said and done, this year’s MLK Day matchup by the Bay went the same way last year’s did in Cleveland – with the Warriors jumping on the Wine &amp; Gold early and cruising to the 126-91 win at Oracle Arena.

The Cavaliers allowed 78 points and trailed by 29 points at intermission.

The Big Three combined to go 13-for-43 from the floor – with Kevin Love sitting out the second half with a sore lower back and LeBron James and Kyrie Irving seeing limited fourth quarter minutes.

5.  File this one under Things You Didn’t Think You’d Hear at Practice Media Avail ….

When asked about his relationship with Warriors interim head coach (and former Cavs top man) Mike Brown, Tyronn Lue responded: “I owe him $100 from when I was a rookie. He wouldn’t take the money so that way he can say I always owe him. He was (an assistant) with the Spurs and I was with the Lakers and we had a little shooting contest and I lost and he wouldn’t take the money. So now, for 19 years in a row, he always says: ‘You owe me $100.’”

Brown, who compiled a 42-29 Playoff record (305-187 overall) in his first five-year stint with the Wine &amp; Gold hasn’t lost since taking over on the sidelines for Steve Kerr.

”I’ve always been close with Mike,” smiled Lue. “I like Mike a lot, I respect him a lot. I had a chance to work out his son at Impact Sports in Vegas over the Summer. Mike’s a good guy.”

6.   When it comes to head-to-head rankings, it’s virtually impossible to match up with the regular season Warriors – who finished first in the league in points scored and field goal percentage as well as assists per game. Defensively, they top the list when it comes to opponents’ field goal percentage, three-point percentage along with steals, blocks and turnovers per game.

In the Playoffs, it’s been a different story.

Yes, the Warriors are still outstanding. But the Cavaliers’ highest regular season ranking in any of the above categories was three-point percentage (2nd). And in the 2017 postseason, the Cleveland ranks 1st in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and defensive rebounds per game.

The Cavaliers and Warriors are one-two in terms of scoring. Each team topped the century mark during their Conference run – a first in NBA history.

(Just to show how far the NBA has come in under 20 years, the 2017 Cavaliers averaged 116.8 points in the postseason. Mike Fratello’s Cavaliers averaged 80.7 points per game – and they still gave Indiana all it could handle in the 1998 Playoffs.)

7.   A couple quick San Francisco/Oakland/Oracle Arena things …

* There are so many interesting peripheral experiences that go along with reaching the NBA Finals, and this one might seem trivial, but there’s not many things cooler than getting a police escort to and from Oracle Arena across the Bay Bridge from downtown San Francisco – about six to eight CHiPs motorcycle cops – (no, not Ponch and John) – guiding two busses through the city.

Some fans just stare curiously. Others cheer. Others send us off with a single-finger salute.

* On the wall in the hallway across from the Oracle Arena visitor’s locker room – (easily the largest in the league) – about 20 feet up, there’s a violent indentation in the wall, with an illegible autograph and the number “41” next to it.

It’s from the famous 2006-07 Mavericks-Warriors First Round series – when Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson and the 8th-seeded Warriors dropped the top-seeded Mavs.

After Golden State crushed Dallas by 25, Dirk Nowitzki came out of the locker room hurled a chair at the wall. They just left it.

*It’s probably a safe bet that Guillermo from Jimmy Kimmel Live!  will be making an appearance for the big media roll-out on Wednesday.

*With NBA Finals games beginning at 9 p.m. (or 8 p.m.) Eastern Time, that means games begin at either 5 or 6 p.m. in California. There’s something strange about leaving a Playoff game and the sun still being out.

At almost any other part of the season, the Cavaliers would hold shootaround in the morning before a game – especially of this magnitude. But with the early start (and long commute across the bay), the team just does morning breakfast and walkthrough at the hotel.

I don’t know what everyone else with the Cavaliers traveling caravan did on the morning of Game 7 last year, but I remember mine vividly and probably always will.

It was a perfect sunny day in San Francisco and I housed a huge breakfast at Mel’s Famous Drive-in Diner on Mission Street. On the way back to the hotel, I heard music from mass at St. Patrick’s Church right across the street. It was mostly a Filipino congregation, and I remember the priest was somewhat hilarious after services wrapped up.

I was taught never to pray for a sporting event. That there’s more important things to ask for. But I prayed for the NBA Championship at St. Patrick’s that morning.

6‑1‑17 at Warriors