From Las Vegas Sun sports desk....
"The Cavaliers find themselves in nearly the exact same position as they did this time last season ? down 2-0 to the Warriors as they head back to Cleveland following two blowout losses.
Last year, the Cavaliers responded, winning game three 120-90. I don?t expect that to happen this year, but Cleveland should come out much stronger.
It?s a trend that has emerged with astonishing regularity. Any team down 2-0 in a playoff series is 18-1 against the spread in the first half of game three. Teams in that situation are 8-1 this year (San Antonio?s loss to Golden State in the conference finals was the only outlier), and 10-0 in the 2016 postseason.
It makes sense. A team down 2-0 has its back against the wall and knows it must play with urgency or its season is likely going to be over soon. Meanwhile, teams up 2-0 tend to take their foot off the gas pedal early in game three as they feel comfortable coming from behind in the second half if needed.
And while two postseasons are a small sample size, teams in this situation are 64-31-1 (67 percent) versus the first-half game three spread since 2007.
The Warriors seem almost unbeatable, and they may very well sweep the defending champions to finish the postseason undefeated. But I will take Lebron James and the desperate Cavaliers in the first half tonight."
"The Cavaliers find themselves in nearly the exact same position as they did this time last season ? down 2-0 to the Warriors as they head back to Cleveland following two blowout losses.
Last year, the Cavaliers responded, winning game three 120-90. I don?t expect that to happen this year, but Cleveland should come out much stronger.
It?s a trend that has emerged with astonishing regularity. Any team down 2-0 in a playoff series is 18-1 against the spread in the first half of game three. Teams in that situation are 8-1 this year (San Antonio?s loss to Golden State in the conference finals was the only outlier), and 10-0 in the 2016 postseason.
It makes sense. A team down 2-0 has its back against the wall and knows it must play with urgency or its season is likely going to be over soon. Meanwhile, teams up 2-0 tend to take their foot off the gas pedal early in game three as they feel comfortable coming from behind in the second half if needed.
And while two postseasons are a small sample size, teams in this situation are 64-31-1 (67 percent) versus the first-half game three spread since 2007.
The Warriors seem almost unbeatable, and they may very well sweep the defending champions to finish the postseason undefeated. But I will take Lebron James and the desperate Cavaliers in the first half tonight."
