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NBA Finals: 5 takeaways from Game 3

By Ian Levy

Jun 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Golden State Warriors players react from the bench during the final seconds in the fourth quarter of game three of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers won 120-90. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Golden State Warriors players react from the bench during the final seconds in the fourth quarter of game three of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers won 120-90. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Golden State Warriors
Jun 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Golden State Warriors players react from the bench during the final seconds in the fourth quarter of game three of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers won 120-90. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

 1. So much blowout

The nature of this series has been bizarre with a stunning lack of in-game competitiveness. The first three games of the NBA Finals have been decided by an average of 26 points. I mentioned this in The Rotation today, but according to Inpredictable, 49 minutes and 34 seconds of this series have been played with one of the two teams having an in-game win probability of greater than 90 percent. That’s 34 percent of the total minutes played, and more than the length of a full game. Zoom in on just the fourth quarters and 97 percent (all but 69 seconds), have been played with one team having a 90 percent or greater win probability.

It’s not strange to see one team beating up on the other in the NBA Finals. It’s weird to see them taking turns getting their face rubbed in the dirt. In the small sample size of a single playoff series, it’s easy to get caught up in the noise of game-to-game trends. Given how dramatic the swings have been from the first two games to Game 3, it’s probably not worth putting much stock in the size of either result. The Cavaliers are likely not nearly as bad as they looked in Oakland and Game 3 probably doesn’t mean that they’ve “solved” the Warriors.

So, who wins Game 4 by 30 points?

For more NBA Finals coverage, check out our NBA Finals hub page.

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