Report: Cavaliers considered sitting Big 3 vs. Warriors
The reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers have had the Golden State Warriors' number as of late, not only making history in overcoming a 3-1 deficit in last year's Finals, but also taking their Christmas Day matchup with another game-winning Kyrie Irving jumper.
Monday marks the teams' second and final meeting of the 2016-17 regular season, and while it's seemingly no longer on the table headed into their highly anticipated clash at Oracle Arena, the Cavaliers reportedly contemplated toying with Golden State by not giving them a chance for redemption.
Some within the organization considered the idea of sitting all three of LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Irving, league sources told ESPN's Chris Haynes.
That was eventually nixed, however, as the opportunity to gain experience against one of the Association's top squads and a potential opponent in a Finals rematch was too much to pass up on.
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"The only thing we can do is play," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, according to Haynes, when asked how he'd take the Cavaliers resting their stars. "Whoever is out there is out there."
Including the Finals, Cleveland has taken four straight outings against the Bay Area bombers. They're coming off a 120-108 road victory over the Sacramento Kings Friday night, while Golden State is riding a three-game winning streak, with six wins in their last seven.