Looking at the Warriors, Cavaliers side-by-side
The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers will reprise their NBA Finals roles from last season beginning Thursday.
See you Thursday, @cavs. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/8tObOBga59
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) May 31, 2016
The defending champion Warriors will attempt to win back-to-back championships for the first time in the franchise’s history. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in six games last June, winning the final three games of the series.
The Warriors and Cavaliers met twice this season. Golden State won 89-83 at home on Christmas day, 132-98 in Cleveland on Jan. 18. It’s worth noting that in both of those games the Cavaliers were coached by David Blatt, who was fired four days after that defeat and replaced by Tyronn Lue.
Both teams were at full strength in those games. That wasn’t the case in last season’s NBA Finals, when the Cavaliers played without Kyrie Irving (for five games) and Kevin Love (for the series). Both teams should be at full strength for Game 1 in Oakland.
Here is a comparison of their regular-season and postseason statistics. The Cavs are winning playoff games at more than twice the differential than they did in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Warriors’ shooting percentage (including from three-point range) has taken a slight dip in the postseason.
Regular season
Statistic | Warriors | Cavaliers |
Record | 73-9 | 57-25 |
Points per game | 114.9 | 104.3 |
Avg. differential | +10.8 | +6.0 |
Rebounds per game | 46.2 | 44.5 |
Assists per game | 28.9 | 22.7 |
Steals per game | 8.4 | 6.7 |
Blocked shots per game | 6.1 | 3.9 |
Turnovers per game | 14.9 | 12.9 |
FG percentage | .487 | .460 |
3-point percentage | .416 | .362 |
Free throw percentage | .763 | .748 |
Opp. FG pct. | .435 | .448 |
Opp. 3-point pct. | .332 | .347 |
Opp. average turnovers | 13.8 | 12.9 |
Postseason
Statistic | Warriors | Cavaliers |
Record | 12-5 | 12-2 |
Points per game | 110.9 | 106.9 |
Avg. differential | +6.4 | +12.6 |
Rebounds per game | 44.6 | 43.0 |
Assists per game | 25.0 | 22.9 |
Steals per game | 8.5 | 7.0 |
Blocked shots per game | 5.4 | 3.6 |
Turnovers per game | 14.0 | 11.6 |
FG percentage | .464 | .475 |
3-point percentage | .403 | .434 |
Free throw percentage | .734 | .725 |
Opp. FG pct. | .418 | .451 |
Opp. 3-point pct. | .342 | .340 |
Opp. average turnovers | 15.1 | 12.4 |
Compiled by Jeff Caraska
This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Looking at the Warriors, Cavaliers side-by-side."