Warriors vs. Cavs, Round 4: Is this good for the NBA?
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Image 1 of 10 In this June 2, 2016 file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. In this June 2, 2016 file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press Image 2 of 10 LeBron James (23) waits for a pass during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. less LeBron James (23) waits for a pass during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 3 of 10 Klay Thompson (11) surrounded by the media during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. less Klay Thompson (11) surrounded by the media during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 4 of 10 Kyle Korver (26) stretches with teammates during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. less Kyle Korver (26) stretches with teammates during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 5 of 10 Kevin Love (0) shoots during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. less Kevin Love (0) shoots during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 6 of 10 JR Smith (5) during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. JR Smith (5) during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 7 of 10 Stephen Curry (30) bounces a ball on his head during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. less Stephen Curry (30) bounces a ball on his head during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 8 of 10 Kevin Durant (35) smiles while answering a question during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. less Kevin Durant (35) smiles while answering a question during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 9 of 10 Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watches some practice shots during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. less Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watches some practice shots during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 10 of 10 Draymond Green (23) leaves the interview room during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. less Draymond Green (23) leaves the interview room during an off day practice and media day at Oracle Arena before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Warriors vs. Cavs, Round 4: Is this good for the NBA? 1 / 10 Back to Gallery
The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers will meet in the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year, starting Thursday night, at Oakland’s Oracle Arena.
While fans of both teams are excited for the matchup, is this latest edition of the same matchup a good thing for the NBA? Or are people getting sick of it?
Depends on whom you ask.
The players love it, even if they hate the question.
“Yeah, I think it’s great. I think it’s great. You want me to elaborate?” Warriors forward Kevin Durant said at Wednesday’s media scrum ahead of the Finals.
“It’s not our fault,” said Golden State’s Klay Thompson. “I’m sure if you asked the fans of the Warriors or the Cavs ... I’m sure they’re happy with their team’s performance. The only people I hear saying that are fans of other teams.”
LeBron James? The Cavaliers’ superstar didn’t want to hear about any boredom with a third sequel.
“If you don’t want to see someone in the (Finals), then beat them,” James said.
Solid logic all around.
TV executives are all for this matchup. Ratings were sky-high this postseason, thanks to the star power on both rosters. It didn’t hurt that both the Eastern and Western Conference finals went to suspenseful Game 7 deciders.
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In Boston, James and his Cavaliers outlasted the storied Celtics, attracting over 13 million viewers, according to the Nielsen ratings. That’s ESPN’s second-best rating ever for an NBA playoff game.
The next night, the Warriors and Rockets played their own Game 7, and the audience was even bigger. Over 18 million viewers tuned in to see Golden State eliminate Houston. That’s the second-largest cable television audience in history for an NBA game, trailing only the Warriors-Thunder Game 7 in 2016, according to the Associated Press and NBA.com.
ESPN reported a 31 percent jump in its NBA playoff audience this year. Clearly, the fans have been engaged.
But will they remain so during the Finals? Few give Cleveland a chance to beat the Warriors this time around. Golden State features four All-Stars in the starting lineup. Cleveland counters with one legend — James — and a cast of role players.
There have been rumblings on social media that fans are growing tired of this matchup.
“Waking up to see the #Cavs will be playing the Warriors, again, was not how I’d like to start this work week. #CavsWarriorsIV #NBAFinals,” tweeted one fan from Pennsylvania after the Warriors won Game 7 in Houston.
“I’ll still be watching, but after the last two weeks, #CavsWarriorsIV is easily the least inspiring outcome,” tweeted another in Nashville.
But once the ball goes up, many around the country will tune in to see whether Cleveland can pull off the upset. Through their recent dominance of the NBA landscape, the Warriors have gone from everyone’s darlings in 2015 to everyone’s villains in 2018.
Which gives James and his teammates an interesting opportunity.
“Listen, Golden State is one of the best teams I’ve ever played. It’s one of the best teams that’s ever been assembled,” James said Wednesday. “For me as a competitor, it’s fun. It’s truly fun to know when I’m done playing the game of basketball to know that I played against some of the greatest teams that ever played, ever been assembled. And this is one of them.”
Star power attracts viewers. Some basketball purists may have wanted to see an upstart Toronto Raptors team reach the Finals after winning the most games in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. Others liked the Celtics, who lost two of their best players to injuries and still came one game short of the Finals, after an inspired run through the playoffs.
Then again, most fans couldn’t name five players on the Raptors or the Celtics. But they know LeBron James. Stephen Curry’s jersey is the No. 1 seller in the league. Draymond Green is a player many fans love to hate. Kevin Durant always brings a touch of melodrama to the occasion.
This is an NBA telenovela, writ large.
People may not like dynasties. But they still watch them.
“Baseball thrived for many years with the New York Yankees as repeaters,” sports agent Leigh Steinberg wrote in an opinion piece recently published by Forbes.com. “The NFL had the Dallas Cowboys as ‘America’s Team.’ The Buffalo Bills made four consecutive losing Super Bowl appearances. The New England Patriots have been back many times, and both the MLB and the NFL are healthy.”
More parity may be on the horizon in the NBA, with the aforementioned Celtics, Raptors and Rockets, among other teams, poised to get better. There has been talk of simply taking the top 16 teams in the league into the playoffs, leaving geography out of the equation. Until then, enjoy Round 4.
“I think this is a great display of basketball on the court from both sides, and if you’re a real lover of the game, you can enjoy how both teams play it, even though it may be different,” said Durant. “So if you enjoy basketball, I don’t feel like you should have any complaints because it’s a great set of players on both teams.”
Al Saracevic is the sports editor of The San Francisco Chronicle. E-mail: asaracevic@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @alsaracevic