Matt Steinmetz

It’s Game of the Year, Part II on Monday, when the Cavaliers play the Warriors at Oracle — a Martin Luther King day special. So many aspects to this game, with one of the most intriguing being Cleveland’s four straight victories, dating back to last year’s three straight in the Finals, and whether the Cavs are in the Warriors’ heads.

Do the Cavs have a psychological edge over the Warriors at this point?

On the “NBA This Week” we dissect Monday’s Cavaliers-Warriors game, including the idea that Golden State needs this game more. On Christmas Day, the Warriors blew a 14-point lead with nine minutes to go, losing 109-108, in Cleveland.

We also go back-and-forth, in between and up and down on other aspects such as Kyle Korver’s impact on the game and matchup; which team would be favored in an NBA Finals; J.R. Smith’s race to get back by the postseason; why the Cavs seem to bottle up Stephen Curry; LeBron James and his team’s mindset against Golden State, and tons more.

Below are some links to portions of the “The NBA This Week.” We also had several guests, including Dave McMenamin, who covers the Cavs and NBA for ESPN, Michael Cage, a 15-year veteran and now television analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Calvin Watkins, who covers the Houston Rockets and NBA for ESPN.

In Hour 2 of the “NBA This Week,” Matt Steinmetz and John Dickinson were joined in-studio by Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post. Yeah, oh, by the way, the Warriors play Oklahoma City at home on Wednesday and then play at Houston on Friday. So a few big ones these weeks.

Link to Hour 1 of the “NBA This Week.”

Link to interview with Dave McMenamin on the “NBA This Week.”

Link to Hour 2 of the “NBA This Week,” with Tim Bontemps.

Link to interview with Michael Cage on the “NBA This Week.”

Link to Hour 3 of the “NBA This Week.”

Link to interview with Calvin Watkins on the “NBA This Week.”

It feels like we’ve seen this game a lot this year when it comes to the Golden State Warriors. A team hangs in against them for a half or so and then the Warriors turn it on and put that team away with a big burst.

That’s what happened in the Warriors’ 127-107 win on Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons at Oracle. A close game at halftime turned into a rout when the Warriors outscored Detroit 41-19 in the third quarter.

Link to “Warriors WrapUp,” the postgame show on 95.7-FM The Game.

It wasn’t a game that’s going to be remembered down the line, but the Warriors did what they had to do against the Miami Heat, winning 107-95 at Oracle Arena on Tuesday. Golden State was without shooting guard Klay Thompson, who was given the night off to rest, and it was apparent they were missing his scoring punch.

Give the Heat credit. They hung around for most of the game by controlling tempo, stopping runs before they got started and winning the battle of the interior. It wasn’t enough, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr made it clear after the game that the Heat are one of the most well-coached teams in the league.

Here’s link to “Warriors WrapUp,” the postgame show on 95.7-FM The Game.