Stephen Nover's 15-Dime Game 4 Crusher
(NBA) Golden State vs. Cleveland,
Total: 193.00 | -105.00 Under
Result: Loss
All three games in this NBA championship Series have gone under the posted total during regulation. It hasn't been that close either as they've gone under by an average of 13.3 points. I get that the series has been about outstanding defense, particularly Cleveland's defense.




But this is 10 points under the posted Game 1 total, the lowest over/under of the series. I say it's too much of an adjustment.




There are a number of reasons for this.




After 11 quarters, the Warriors finally got untracked in the fourth quarter of Game 3 this past Tuesday scoring 36 in the period. Stephen Curry put up 17 of those. Curry finally showed a skip to his step and played like he did during his MVP regular season.




Curry is at his best on the open floor. Steve Kerr is going to make that happen by going to a smaller lineup getting David Lee more involved. Lee is an offensive upgrade on ineffective Andrew Bogut and defensive-minded and banged-up Draymond Green.




The Cavaliers have a much shorter bench than the Warriors. They have been concentrating on the defensive end while letting LeBron James do nearly all of the offensive work. I can see fatigue affecting Cleveland's defensive effort and intensity in this Game 4, which has a short turnaround time from when Game 3 was played.




I also see the Cavaliers stepping up their offensive performance. James is in line for another monster game with Green bothered by a back injury suffered in Game 2. Green, maybe the Warriors' top defender, played barely 30 minutes this past Tuesday. That was the second-fewest minutes he's logged during the playoffs.




The Cavaliers put up 52 points in the second half in Game 3. Some of this was because Cavaliers coach David Blatt went to more double high posts, which opened up his team's offense and gave James more freedom.