PREMIUM
Stephen Nover's NBA Totals Destroyer
(NBA) Cleveland vs. Golden State,
Total: 220.50 | -110.00 Under
Result: Win
Total: 220.50 | -110.00 Under
Result: Win
The Cavaliers and Warriors didn't come close to going Over the total in Game 1 of their NBA Finals this past Thursday won by Golden State, 113-91.
There were reasons for this namely that the Cavaliers shot less than 35 percent from the floor and Golden State made only 42.5 percent from the field and shot only 16 free throws.
Now we have a Game 2 total that is nearly five points lower than Game 1. I don't believe this big of an over/under adjustment is justified. The pace for Game 1 was up-tempo. The superstarts - LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant - all had big games.
The shooting just was off. That's understandable since the Cavaliers hadn't played in a week while the Warriors had been idle for nine days. That's a lot of rust. Now the teams have idle for just two days.
Until Game 1, the Cavaliers had scored 106 or more points during their previous 13 playoff games. Cleveland went into Game 1 averaging a playoff-high 118.3 points per 100 possessions. Golden State ranked No. 2 in the playoffs at 115.4 points per 100 possessions. Each team rated among the top three in offensive efficiency during the regular season, too.
Key Cleveland reserves Deron Williams and Kyle Korver failed to score in Game 1 going a combined 0-for-7 from the field.
Golden State committed only four turnovers. The Warriors led by 21 entering the final period and took their foot off the gas scoring only 20 points after putting up 93 points through the first three quarters.
Draymond Green and Klay Thompson combined to miss 22 of 28 shots from the floor, making only one-of-10 from beyond the arc. Thompson has been in a shooting slump, but it's hard to believe that either of these star players can shoot that bad again especially if the Cavaliers try to pay extra attention to Durant.
There were reasons for this namely that the Cavaliers shot less than 35 percent from the floor and Golden State made only 42.5 percent from the field and shot only 16 free throws.
Now we have a Game 2 total that is nearly five points lower than Game 1. I don't believe this big of an over/under adjustment is justified. The pace for Game 1 was up-tempo. The superstarts - LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant - all had big games.
The shooting just was off. That's understandable since the Cavaliers hadn't played in a week while the Warriors had been idle for nine days. That's a lot of rust. Now the teams have idle for just two days.
Until Game 1, the Cavaliers had scored 106 or more points during their previous 13 playoff games. Cleveland went into Game 1 averaging a playoff-high 118.3 points per 100 possessions. Golden State ranked No. 2 in the playoffs at 115.4 points per 100 possessions. Each team rated among the top three in offensive efficiency during the regular season, too.
Key Cleveland reserves Deron Williams and Kyle Korver failed to score in Game 1 going a combined 0-for-7 from the field.
Golden State committed only four turnovers. The Warriors led by 21 entering the final period and took their foot off the gas scoring only 20 points after putting up 93 points through the first three quarters.
Draymond Green and Klay Thompson combined to miss 22 of 28 shots from the floor, making only one-of-10 from beyond the arc. Thompson has been in a shooting slump, but it's hard to believe that either of these star players can shoot that bad again especially if the Cavaliers try to pay extra attention to Durant.
