Back in October, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors were the favourites to meet in the NBA Finals for the fourth straight season.

But that narrative changed quickly once things got underway.

The Cavaliers struggled immensely through the first half of the season before one of the biggest trade deadline shakeups in NBA history, while the Warriors gave way to the Houston Rockets as the top seed in the Western Conference.

Even once the playoffs came around a rematch looked unlikely. The Cavs barely squeaked by the Indiana Pacers in the first round and swept the Toronto Raptors in four games in the second, but found themselves down 3-2 to the Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals. The Warriors were in the same spot against the Rockets. After convincing Game 6 wins at home, each team won Game 7 on the road as their opponents struggled mightily from beyond the arc.

Cleveland and Golden State each took different paths – the Cavaliers a much bumpier one – but they ended up in the same place. Again.

With the two teams set to square off in their fourth straight NBA Finals, TSN.ca takes a look back at the previous three series and how they match up this time around.

 

2015: Warriors capitalize on Irving absence, hold off LeBron

Result: Warriors 4-2

Finals MVP: Andre Iguodala (16.3 ppg, 5.8 reb, 4.0 ast)

Game 1 was one the Cavaliers wish they had back.

Not only did the Cavs drop the opener 108-100 in overtime, but they lost All-Star guard Kyrie Irving because of a left kneecap fracture that ended up keeping him out for the rest of the Finals.

Irving dealt with a knee injury in the Conference Finals that caused him to miss two games, but said he felt healthy coming into Game 1.

“It’s disappointing and frustrating because I felt amazing,” Irving said. “This is just a setback that I kind of have to take with a grain of salt.”

At least for the next two games, Cleveland was able to overcome Irving’s absence. But as the series wore on, the lack of Irving’s offence became apparent. Cleveland scored 100 points in the opener, but didn’t crack triple digits again while the Warriors did in each of the last three games to close the series.

 

James tried desperately to take his play to another level. According to USA Today, in the 83 games James started before the NBA Finals, he took 30 or more shots just three times. In six games in the championship round, he did it five times. It didn’t end up working, but his numbers alone were enough to place him second behind Andre Iguodala in Finals MVP voting.

James was the first player in NBA Finals history to lead both teams in total points, rebounds and assists for the entire series, averaging 35.8 points per game, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists.

In the end, it wasn’t enough as the Cavs’ supporting cast struggled to keep up with Golden State (and their own teammate). The Warriors won the title in six games to give them their first championship since 1975.

 

2016: LeBron fulfills his promise

Result: Cavaliers win 4-3

Finals MVP: LeBron James (29.7 ppg, 11.3 reb, 8.9 ast)

 

Through the first two games, the series looked to be all but over. The 73-win Warriors followed up a 15-point Game 1 victory by steamrolling the Cavs 110-77 in Game 2. But Cleveland adjusted to bounce back in a big way, winning by 30 points to set up a controversial Game 4.

Late in the fourth quarter of an eventual Warriors’ win, Draymond Green and James got tangled up at mid-court. Green went down and as LeBron tried to step over him, Green responded with a swipe that caught James in the groin. Since Green had already accumulated three flagrant foul points during the playoffs before Game 4, a fourth triggered an automatic suspension.

Despite James saying after the game he didn’t expect the NBA to follow through with Green’s suspension – a flagrant foul can be rescinded, therefore eliminating the suspension – the NBA upheld the ruling and Green was forced to sit in Game 5, which Cleveland won 112-97.

From there, the Cavs had momentum. Cleveland won Game 6 behind a historic 41-point effort from James on 16-27 from the floor.

This set up one of the more memorable Game 7s in Finals history.

With less than two minutes remaining and the game tied, Andre Iguodala came away with the ball and made his way toward the rim on a fast break. About to convert what appeared to be an easy layup, James chased down the 2015 Finals MVP and pinned his shot against the glass.

Soon after, Kyrie Irving broke the tie with a cold-blooded three over Steph Curry that gutted the Warriors.

Down four, Golden State misfired at the buzzer and LeBron James embraced a nearby Kevin Love to begin the celebration of his third career title.

After promising his near-hometown of Cleveland a championship when he re-signed in 2014, James made good on his promise.

“This was for them,” James said on winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy for Cleveland.

“I gave everything that I had for 48 minutes.”

 

 

2017: Durant the difference as Warriors reclaim title

Result: Warriors win 4-1

Finals MVP: Kevin Durant (35.2 ppg, 8.2 reb, 5.4 ast)

Following their loss to the Cavs a year before, the Warriors brought in nine-time All-Star and former MVP Kevin Durant to give them one of the most stacked rosters in NBA history.

The difference this time around was clear. Durant averaged 35.2 points per game in the series on 55.6 per cent from the floor as the Warriors cruised to a 4-1 series win, their easiest series victory by far over Cleveland.

 

The Warriors took home the first two games just like the year before in dominant fashion but this time carried that momentum to Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs gave their best in a must-win Game 3 and found themselves ahead by two with less than a minute remaining. With less than a minute left, Durant collected a rebound off a missed free throw and nailed a pull-up three-pointer over LeBron. Cleveland would not score another point as the Warriors held off 38 points from Irving and 39 from James in a 118-113 win.

The Cavaliers would win Game 4 but a 3-0 series deficit proved to be too much for the Cavs to handle as the series shifted back to Oracle Arena. Durant scored 39 on 14-of-20 shooting to put the Cavaliers away and give him his first career title.

“I hear all the narratives throughout the season that I was joining, I was hopping on bandwagons, I was letting everybody else do the work,” Durant said. “But then that was far from the truth. I came in and tried to help my team. Like I said, tried to be myself, be aggressive and sacrifice as well.”

 

2018: Warriors come in as heavy favourites

According to the Westgate Sportsbook in Las Vegas, no team has ever been bigger underdogs in terms of betting odds in the Finals than the 2018 Cavaliers.

The Warriors came in as 1/10 favourites to win the title, while the Cavs opened at 13/2. Golden State is a 12-point favourite in Game 1, which is the largest point spread to start an NBA Finals since 1991 according to ESPN.

If the betting odds weren’t bad enough for Cleveland, All-Star forward Kevin Love remains in concussion protocol following a collision in the Conference Final with Jayson Tatum and is questionable for Game 1.

Despite LeBron playing at such a high level – possibly his highest ever – the Cavs are going to need more than just him to dethrone the defending champs. Other than James, Love is their only other player with a scoring average in double figures.

But as 2016 showed, the Cavaliers have beaten the odds before. With the Warriors’ roster largely unchanged from last year, the Cavs are going to need everything they can get this time around.

Game 1 goes Thursday night from Oracle Arena. Viewers can catch all the action live across the TSN Network and on TSN GO.