My favorite tweet after Game 3 on Wednesday came from ESPN Stats & Info. That’s unusual, because it’s just a popular account that predominately tweets out generic statistics. They almost never make jokes, except for the occasional instance where they accidentally back into one.
This terrible Cavs stat accidentally turned into our last ever Warriors 3-1 joke
The tweet was meant to point out Cleveland’s struggles late in Game 3, but instead just reminded us of 2016.
After Game 3, they did just that.
Here’s the stat we’re supposed to be looking at, which is terrible for Cleveland.
2017 Cavaliers 3:09 G3
It’s true: with 3:09 left in Game 3, J.R. Smith nailed an enormous three-pointer that put the Cavaliers up by six points. They just needed to hang onto that lead for slightly more than three minutes. Honestly, they might have only needed one more made shot, but they instead went scoreless for more than three minutes and lost 118-113.
It’s a great stat. But I couldn’t help but focus on another one.
2016 Warriors 4:39 G7
Oh my God.
The ESPN tweet is supposed to be about how historic the Cavaliers’ collapse was, and it still couldn’t help but bring up the 2016 Finals, when Cleveland came back from down 3-1 to beat Golden State. That’s the decisive Game 7 and you can see 3:39 of those 4:39 scoreless minutes below in a game that ended up as a 93-89 Cavaliers win.
Wait, it gets even better.
2016 Cavaliers 3:22 G5
You might be saying: Why is the Cavaliers going scoreless in the final 3:22 of Game 5 a burn against the Warri—
Oh, I can see you get it now. The Cavaliers won that game. They went scoreless for nearly three-and-a-half minutes, and they won that game anyway. (To be fair, Cleveland was up by 16 points when that scoring drought started. Both teams pulled starters and the Cavaliers eventually won by 15 points.)
What a superb, subtle flex by that ESPN tweet (surely on accident, though you never know) to point out how great Golden State’s comeback was without failing to bring up memory of the infamous three games to one blown lead.
Sadly, might be our final 3-1 joke.
The 3-1 joke lasted much longer than most memes, drawing life for nearly an entire calendar year. It took a hundred different forms and guises, and it entertained basketball Twitter for months on end.
It was a great joke, poking fun at the Warriors’ arrogance and humbling a team that willingly took on the role of a villain. Still, if Golden State hadn’t signed Kevin Durant last summer, I’m certain it would have died out much quicker.
I grew up watching the Mavericks, who blew a 2-0 lead in the 2006 Finals and then lost as the No. 1 seed the next year. I know what it’s like to suffer tragic, heart-wrenching playoff losses. But I never felt bad about the 3-1 joke because that was just a coping mechanism. As soon as the Warriors signed Durant, they were the team who would probably win the next five titles. They’re currently just one win away starting that streak.
You can’t make jokes about a team that has four All-Stars, probably thwacked your favorite squad by 40 points, and is probably going 16-0 in the postseason. For all of this season, all we had were the 3-1 jokes.
But not only is the joke drawing to a close, but this one might be the last.
