
When the Warriors take the floor on Christmas Day to defend their turf against their 2015 NBA Finals foes from Cleveland, only one result could possibly linger for more than a day or three.
That would be a blowout loss.
If the Cavaliers, with their full complement of players, should march into Oracle Arena and rout the Warriors, ending their franchise-record home win streak at 31, it would plant a seed that just might sprout some doubt within the heads of the defending champs.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
[POOLE: Gameday: NBA Finals rematch headlines Christmas at Oracle]
Why? The Warriors will have lost, under the national spotlight, not just a game but also their veneer of invincibility at Oracle.
Why else? The Warriors will have validated, at least to some degree, the opinions of those who insist their NBA Finals win over the Cavaliers was as much a product of good fortune as of skill and talent.
There remains a legion of NBA observers, including former players, who believe a healthy Cavs team would have defeated the Warriors last June. It’s pure supposition, of course, but it’s enough to matter to folks in Cleveland if not to those who ride with the Warriors.
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
The Cavaliers now are the healthiest they’ve been since the beginning of the playoffs last April. All-Star power forward Kevin Love, who missed the entire NBA Finals, is on his game. Kyrie Irving, who missed all but 44 minutes of the six-game series with a fractured knee, has recovered and returned to action five days ago.
“They’re a different team,” Draymond Green said. “We’re a different team.”
[POOLE: Warriors changing up strategy vs LeBron from Finals]
That, more than anything else, is why this game is so intriguing. It’s a rematch of the NBA Finals teams but not of the NBA Finals rosters.
The Warriors are the team that expects to be a man down. Starting forward Harrison Barnes on Thursday was upgraded to doubtful but interim coach Luke Walton said he “doesn’t think” Barnes will play against Cleveland.
The loss of Barnes wouldn’t diminish the Warriors in December as much as the loss of Love and Irving did the Cavaliers in June. But it’s significant nonetheless.
That’s why the Warriors don’t seem to be putting too much stake in what happens Friday. Unless . . .
“The most important thing for us is that we’re playing at home and we pride ourselves on being a great home team,” Stephen Curry said. “We haven’t lost yet at home (this season) and only twice in the regular season last year, so we have established a level of play here at Oracle that we need to live up to.
“That’s the first and foremost priority for tomorrow, is to protect our home court.”
[RELATED: Cavs’ Shumpert on Warriors: ‘We’ve been waiting for this’]
That’s the only unambiguous aspect here. It could pretty deep if the Warriors spend the fourth quarter watching the Cavs dunking and dancing in Oakland.
The chances of that are remote – extremely remote. The Warriors are 52-2 at home in the regular season under Steve Kerr and Walton, with one loss to San Antonio in the seventh game of last season and the other to Chicago, in overtime, last Jan 27.
There are no make-or-break games in December, at least not in the NBA. So the buzz surrounding Warriors-Cavaliers is mostly that. Buzz. It’s a big game insofar as it agitates fans and it shines a spotlight upon the league.
The result alone, under the most likely of outcomes, is of no great consequence.
“Whatever happens, we’ll keep building,” center Andrew Bogut said. “We want to be peaking in April, May and June.
“So if we go out there and beat them by 30, that would be nice. But that’s not the be-all, end-all. We’re not going to come out on Christmas Day and if we do happen to (lose) be moping for the next two or three weeks.”
That may depend on the margin of victory.