Kevin Love’s questionable status creates an even bleaker outlook for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who dropped the first two games of the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors.
Love sustained a concussion Sunday in the first half of Game 2 after taking an elbow to the back of the head from Warriors forward Harrison Barnes, but he flew back to Cleveland with the team on Monday.
According to NBA protocol, Love must be symptom-free and pass league-mandated tests before he is cleared to return.
With or without Love, the Cavaliers face an uphill battle. Cleveland has been outscored by a combined 48 points through two games — an all-time record for the first two games of an NBA Finals. Meanwhile, Love is averaging just 11 points on 37.5 percent shooting in the series.
“What we’ve done these last two games doesn’t put a damper or a cloud over how we got to this point,” LeBron James told the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Monday. “We’re still here.”
Only three teams in NBA history recovered from an 0-2 series hole in best-of-seven series to win the Finals — the 1969 Boston Celtics, the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, and the 2006 Miami Heat (before James’ arrival in Miami).
–Golden State became the first team since to win the first two games of the NBA Finals since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009. The Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in five games. Over the last six seasons, the teams competing in the NBA Finals split Games 1 and 2. The Warriors are only the third team in NBA history to record victories in both Games 1 and 2 by at least 15 points, joining the 1951 Rochester Royals and the 2005 San Antonio Spurs. Both the Royals and Spurs went on to win the title, each time in seven games.
–The 2016 NBA Finals through two games have the second-highest ratings ever, according to overnights released from Nielsen on Monday. The Warriors-Cavaliers rematch on ABC is averaging a 12.4 metered market rating. Sunday night’s Game 2 — in which Golden State blew out the Cavaliers 110-77 — generated an 11.8 overnight rating, tying it for the third-highest rated NBA Finals Game 2 ever on ABC. Game 1 was the most watched opener in 15 years with a 13.1 overnight rating.
–Stephen Curry won’t be putting his shooting theatrics on display for the entire world to see this year. Curry will not play in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in order to let his sprained right knee and right ankle heal.
“My previous experiences with USA Basketball have been incredibly rewarding, educational and enjoyable, which made this an extremely difficult decision for me and my family,” Curry said in a statement. “I believe this is the best decision for me at this stage of my career.”
Curry has missed four games this postseason due to the injuries. He is averaging 24.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals in the playoffs.