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Cavs, Warriors meet for Game 5 Monday
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 6/12/2017  at  10:27:00 AM
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CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (64-35)

at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (82-16)

Tip-off: Monday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: Golden State -8.5, Total: 231.0

The Warriors will be looking to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy with a win in Oracle Arena on Monday.

The Cavs had their backs against the wall on Friday, but they ended up coming away with a blowout victory over the Warriors in that Game 4 matchup. Golden State was looking to go a perfect 16-0 in the postseason, but Cleveland ended up winning 137-116. The Cavaliers shot a ridiculous 52.9% from the floor in that game, but they were an even more absurd 24-for-45 from the outside in that one. If they are going to find a way to win on Monday then playing that same game will not be the objective. There is no way Cleveland can outrun Golden State in back-to-back games, so the Cavaliers would be wise to slow things down and focus on getting stops. They have to frustrate the Warriors on their home court, not play to Golden State’s strengths. One trend that favors Cleveland in this game is the fact that the team is 14-6 ATS off a home win by 10 points or more this season. Golden State, however, is an even better 16-4 ATS in home games after allowing 130 points or more since 1996. The Warriors also happen to be 18-7 ATS in home games revenging a straight up loss as a favorite under head coach Steve Kerr.

The Cavaliers have been a lot better in the past two games, and that has a lot to do with the play of PG Kyrie Irving (25.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, 1.2 SPG; all players stats in postseason). Over the past two games, Irving is averaging a ridiculous 39.0 PPG and 6.5 RPG. He’ll need to continue to be aggressive in Oakland, as he averaged just 21.5 PPG in the first two games of this series. It’s clear that is not going to be enough, and the Cavaliers need him to get near the 30-point mark. Cleveland will also obviously need outstanding performances from both SF LeBron James (32.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 7.8 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.3 BPG) and PF Kevin Love (17.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 1.2 SPG). James has been his usual self in this series, averaging 31.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 10.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, and 1.0 BPG. He is still the best player on the court, and he just needs to keep making the right plays on both ends of the floor. Love, meanwhile, has been on and off with his shooting. He was just 1-of-9 from the floor in Game 3, but he had 23 points on 14 shots in Game 4. The team needs him to knock some down in Oracle on Monday.

The Warriors are looking to end this series on Monday, and they’ll need PG Steph Curry (27.7 PPG, 6.5 APG, 6.3 RPG, 1.9 SPG) to find his stroke in this one. Curry was awful in Game 4, going just 4-for-13 from the field and 2-for-9 from three. He can’t afford to miss that many shots moving forward, and he can really help put the dagger in Cleveland by having one of his signature offensive outbursts. Luckily, Golden State has other options if Curry does struggle again. SF Kevin Durant (27.8 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.4 BPG) is the top dog, and he will likely be the Finals MVP this year. He has scored at least 31 points in all four games in this series, and he should be up for another one of those performances on Monday. SG Klay Thompson (15.3 PPG) is also likely in for a better game on Monday. He is a much better shooter at home than he is on the road, and could get hot in this one. PF Draymond Green (13.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.8 BPG, 1.8 SPG) is another threat on both ends of the floor, but he needs to keep his cool on Monday. He almost got two technicals last game, and he can’t put his team in jeopardy anymore than he already has. He was arguably the reason the team isn’t going for a three-peat this season.


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