Matt Steinmetz

There was a lot of discussion before the Cavaliers-Warriors game about which team the game meant more to. After the Warriors’ 126-91 blowout of Cleveland, it was pretty apparent.

The Warriors shot 62 percent from the floor in the first half, on their way to a 78-49 halftime lead, and from there it was mostly garbage time the final 24 minutes. Everything seemed to go right for the Warriors on Monday. They shot the ball terrifically well, they defended fantastically, they took care of the ball and they rebounded. When the Warriors do that, forget about it.

Here’s link to “Warriors WrapUp,” the postgame show from the Warriors blowout of Cavs.

Among the topics coming out of this one:

–The Cavaliers were on the end of a long West Coast road trip, but nobody could have expected this lopsided of a game. But from the get-go, it seemed apparent the Warriors were playing on a different level than Cleveland. It was almost as if the Cavaliers didn’t want to give it their all — for fear of losing a game they put a lot into. Then again, had they been at the top of their game, who knows if they could’ve beaten the Warriors on Monday? The bottom line is the Warriors seemed to treat the game more seriously than the Cavs did.

–Don’t look now but the Warriors are on pace to win 70 games — at 35-6. Should they end up with 70 or more wins, they would become the first team in NBA history with back-to-back seasons of 70 or more wins.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers-Golden State Warriors game is drawing near and we invited Jim Barnett onto the radio to talk about it. Here’s a link to the interview with Barnett on 95.7-FM The Game.

Among the topics discussed:

–Is Kyrie Irving the Warriors’ kryptonite? Irving, of course, has hit two monster shots in the past two games against the Warriors — one in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and another down the stretch of the Cavs’ Christmas Day win.

Barnett, though, believes the Warriors have to be more physical with Irving — and also to not allow Irving to be as physical with Stephen Curry. It’s pretty obvious that the more physical the game, the more it benefits the Cavaliers; and the closer the game is called, the more it helps the Warriors.

–Curry’s role has changed since Christmas. In that game — a 109-108 Cleveland win — Curry took just 11 shots from the floor, and afterward he said, in essence, that was unacceptable. And he made sure it wouldn’t stand. Since that game, Curry has been significantly more assertive … for example, Curry’s taken 21 or more shots in four of the past five games.

–Another issue was whether the Cavaliers are in the heads of the Golden State Warriors, whom they’ve now defeated four straight games. Despite LeBron James saying this wasn’t a rivalry, it seems apparent it is. And, in fact, it may be one of the biggest rivalries in NBA history.

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.”