LeBron, Cavaliers await Christmas rematch against Warriors

“In my mind, yes”, Curry said when asked by Time magazine, in an interview published Wednesday, whether he was the best player in the world.

Either the Cavs are merely paying the attention due to the NBA’s shiniest object this season, answering questions from a media corps fascinated by the record-setting Warriors.

And in Lee Jenkins’ piece for Sports Illustrated, in which the veteran, acclaimed National Basketball Association chronicler revisited the Cavs superstar to delve into his psyche now versus a year ago, Jenkins said James returned home from that Pistons game and stayed up until 3 a.m. – seething as he watched the Warriors on replay.

Curry leads the NBA with 31.8 points a game and his Warriors will face 4-time NBA MVP James and Cleveland on Friday for the first time since beating them in the NBA Finals last June. This is the first rematch since their bitter defeat.

The stat: The Warriors have scored 11.0 more points per 100 possessions than the league average, the biggest differential since the league started counting turnovers in 1977.

LeBron James and Iman Shumpert both commented on their Finals rematch with the Warriors, conveying mixed thoughts in their responses. “But also understand that it’s one of 82, and I’m not going to put everything into this game”.

“I don’t get into debates, arguing with people about why I am versus somebody else”, Curry said. It plays a part…But we’re going to come out and approach the game like we approach all games.

“I don’t know if that’s a black and white answer”, Curry said. “We’re undefeated at home, and with our record, they want to make a statement to us and we want to do the same”.

3 The Warriors’ Curry has hit 131 three-pointers this season, 48 more than any other player. Only 4 of the nineteen games played on December 25 involving Eastern and Western Conference foes have managed to top the total, bringing the tally to 2-14-1 UNDER in these games since 1991.

In the final game of the day, Kobe Bryant takes the Christmas Day stage for the final time (and 12th Christmas appearance on ABC/ESPN overall) as he leads the Los Angeles Lakers against the Los Angeles Clippers and Chris Paul at the Staples Center.

Irving shot 1-of-7 in Wednesday’s win against the New York Knicks and is shooting 6-of-19 in two games since returning from knee surgery.

The Golden State game is the start of a four-games-in-five-nights road trip for the Cavs, continuing through Portland, Phoenix and Denver. “I think like all teams in the league, we get to see where we stack up against the best team”.

If they win, it’ll be routine maintenance as the Warriors continue to prove doubters wrong and only get stronger as a team.

Thanks to our friends at Clorox, all fans attending Friday’s game will have a Warriors ugly-sweater (although we don’t think it’s ugly at all) style T-shirt waiting for them at their seat. “There on the first tee, it was the president, my dad, Ray Allen, and 40 people in the clubhouse yelling Obama’s name the whole time”.