Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 Predictions For Remainder Of 2018 NBA Finals

Aside from the end of Game 1 in which the Cleveland Cavaliers inexplicably blew their chance to steal a win on the road, the 2018 NBA Finals has gone largely as predicted. LeBron James has played at a level never seen by anyone in the history of the sport, and it still hasn’t been enough to defeat the Golden State Warriors.

Cleveland will host Game 3 Wednesday night in what’s essentially a “must-win” situation for the Cavs. They’ve got no chance to come back from a 3-0 series hole against arguably the greatest collection of talent ever assembled.

Here are three predictions for the remainder of the 2018 NBA Finals:

Golden State Won’t Sweep

The most popular NBA Finals pick before the series began was Warriors in five, and that could be exactly where we’re headed. Golden State took the first two games at home as expected, though winning in Cleveland won’t come easy.

Cleveland didn’t come close to stealing a win at Oracle Arena in the 2017 NBA Finals, but they nearly won twice at home. Before blowing out the Warriors in Game 4, the Cavs blew a late fourth-quarter lead in Game 3. Golden State has lost at least one road game in each of their previous three series this postseason, and Cleveland has gone 8-0 at Quicken Loans Arena since dropping Game 1 of the first round. James has been so incredible that he should be able to get the Cavs at least one victory if his supporting cast can raise their game even just a little bit at home.

LeBron Will Score At Least 45 Points Once

In order to get one of those wins at home, James will probably have to score 40 points or more. It’s not even a bold prediction, considering the amazing feats the world’s greatest basketball player has accomplished this postseason.

James has surpassed the 40-point mark in eight 2018 playoff games, putting up at least 44 points in six of those contests. He scored more than 40 points in every other game during the Eastern Conference Finals when his team desperately needed it, and boy do they need that kind of performance against Golden State. Even as the Warriors increased their number of double-teams on James after he scored 51 points in Game 1, he still scored 29 points on 50 percent shooting in Game 2. He’s averaging 38.1 points in nine home playoff games.

Stephen Curry Will Be MVP

Curry is on his way toward winning the first NBA Finals MVP award of his career. He was Golden State’s best player in Game 1 with 29 points, six rebounds and nine assists, leading the offense as Kevin Durant failed to score efficiently. Durant couldn’t miss in Game 2, but it was Curry’s fourth-quarter threes—he made a Finals record nine in the entire game—that sealed the win for the Warriors.

The two-time regular season MVP leads the Warriors in points and assists. Curry will finish as Golden State’s leading scorer if he continues to hit the ridiculous three-pointers that he’s made over the first two games. It might actually be James, not Durant, that is Curry’s chief competition to be named MVP, though Cleveland might have to win at least two games in order for the Cavs’ star to be a serious threat.