Thanks to some fortunate bounces in Game 1 and a red-hot Steph Curry in Game 2, the Golden State Warriors have jumped out to a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA Finals.
Now, the series shifts from Oakland to Cleveland for Game 3. Will the Cavs finally earn a victory, or will the Warriors pull within one game of their second straight NBA title? Here are a pair of predictions for Game 3, which will begin Wednesday at 6 p.m. on ABC15.
ABC15 sports director Craig Fouhy
If you combine Games 1 and 2, the Warriors have more than doubled the Cavs' transition offense, outscoring Cleveland by 37 points in that category. The Warriors like to run and push the pace, and that’s exactly what they did in the first two games.
As the series shifts to Cleveland for the next two games, I expect the Cavs to do something to slow the Warriors down. If they can, I give Cleveland a fighting chance. If not, this series belongs to the Warriors. No surprise there. Warriors 98, Cavaliers 89
ABC15.com sportswriter Shane Dale
The conventional wisdom going into the series was: Warriors win Games 1 and 2 at home, Cavs take Game 3 in Cleveland, Warriors steal Game 4 and close out the series back in Oakland for Game 5. But I think that Game 1 defeat was so soul-crushing for LeBron & Co. that I don't even see Cleveland grabbing a win in this series.
Cleveland has been considerably better at home -- 29-12 compared to just 21-20 on the road during the regular season -- but as were reminded in Game 2, the talent gap between these two teams is massive, especially when Curry shoots lights out. I expect Golden State to put together an encore performance in Cleveland on Wednesday night. Warriors 107, Cavaliers 95
