The LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers once famously came back from down 3-1 to beat the Warriors in the NBA Finals. Is it time for Golden State to return the favor?
It’s only happened 13 times in NBA history, or 4.7% of the time a team has been down 3-1. But the Warriors have done it before — vs. the Thunder in the series before the Cavs did it to them — and have the championship mettle of a team that’s won four titles in seven years.
It’s probably why Steve Kerr isn’t planning some rah-rah speech before Wednesday’s Game 5. Instead he’s going the pragmatic route.
“It’s the reminder that one game changes everything, it really does,” Kerr told Tolbert & Copes on Wednesday. “All you have to do is focus on the game and do your job, go out there and let it rip. If you play well enough and get a win, the whole vibe of the series changes. And that happens throughout the seven games. From one game to the next, the games aren’t connected at all. But there’s an emotion and a pressure that goes through each one, that feels slightly different.”
On one hand, winning three games in a row seems daunting. On the other, the Warriors are favored to win Game 5 by seven and a half. If they take care of business, they’d need to beat the Lakers on the road, something they’ve already done this series. If they do that, all the pressure will be on LA in a Game 7, one that will be back at Chase Center.
“Tomorrow is all about playing our game, doing what we did last night, but cleaning up a few things,” Kerr concluded on KNBR. “Being really solid. Go get it done and everything changes.”
Listen to the full interview above. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Catch Tolbert & Copes weekdays from 2 – 6 p.m. on KNBR 104.5 / 680 and streaming live on KNBR.com.