NBA Finals showcases lopsided victories

Stephen+Means

Stephen Means

Stephen Means

The 2016 NBA Finals haven’t been what can be considered to be competitive. Instead, fans have witnessed two of the best teams in the NBA display why home court advantage plays a major role in postseason basketball.

Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from two road losses to the Golden State Warriors, wherein two games the Cavaliers lost by a total of 48 points, including 33 on Sunday night, putting together a dominating performance of their own.

ESPN showed a stat line last showing that this year’s postseason has seen 19 of games decided by 25 points or more. The finals have been no better.

Each game has been decided by double digits, with many of both team’s key players calling it a night by the end of the third quarter.

This year’s playoffs are on pace to be the least competitive in the history of the NBA and, if it holds up, Golden State will be taking home the Larry O’Brien trophy after game seven.

Although the Cavaliers were able to get back into the series with Wednesday’s win, they aren’t out of the woods yet. A loss Friday will give all the momentum back to the Warriors, who would go back to Oakland, California, with a 3-1 series lead.

The Cavs must continue to take care of business at home with the understanding that eventually, they will have to pull out a win in Oracle Arena.

This is the NBA Finals. At this point in the year the best two games are supposed to be battling it out for seven hard-fought games, with an eventual champion emerging.

There have been moments in each game that have amazed, but overall these playoffs have not lived up to the hype. The stars have not shined and instead, the role players have been the biggest headlines.

It’s been nice to see those guys get noticed; but that isn’t why we tune in.

We want to see Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson get hot from the three-point line. We want to see the Cavs’ LeBron James dominate every facet of the game. We want to see Kyrie Irving out of this world handle and finishing ability, and we want to see the double-double machine that is Kevin Love. So far, we haven’t seen that in these finals.

Both teams have a lot riding on the results of this series:

On one side, you have a team on a historic tear. But without a championship, the season means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The other side features a player whose one and only motivation is to bring a feeling to a city that hasn’t known what it means to win a sports championship in over 50 years. So this is a challenge to both sides to step up.

Step up and capitalize on an opportunity to be a part of something that will be remembered decades from now.

Cavaliers veteran forward Richard Jefferson—who started in last night’s game in place of Love, who was injured—should be an example for every player in this series that this moment isn’t guaranteed to ever come again.

Contact Stephen Means at [email protected].