Cavs' Jefferson: The pressure is all on Warriors

The pressure is on in the NBA Finals, but just for the Golden State Warriors.

At least, that's what Cleveland Cavaliers swingman Richard Jefferson believes.

The Dubs find themselves in familiar territory, up 3-1 on the Cavs. As fans know, this is where things fell apart for Steve Kerr's men last year, when Cleveland became the first team to overcome a 3-1 Finals deficit to claim the title.

There are a few crucial differences this time around, though. For starters, both teams are healthy. Oh, and the Warriors now have Kevin Durant, whom they signed last summer, in addition to their core that went 73-9 during the 2015-16 regular season.

Ahead of Game 5, Jefferson was asked if the pressure's on his former team to win the championship.

"Damn right it is," he told reporters Sunday. "It's not on us. Where is the pressure on us? They had a 73-win team and they added a former MVP. We added Kyle Korver and Deron Williams. They added an MVP to a 73-win team after being up 3-1. And then KD was up 3-1. The pressure is all on them.

"We believe that we are the defending champs. We believe that we have enough here to win a championship and we haven't played great thus far, but there's no pressure on us. There never has. There's never been that. It's been about them proving that last year was a fluke. KD validating the move here, which has been validated. No, we feel very comfortable."

To say the Cavs feel no pressure to defend their title might be a stretch. As great as Cleveland's been in closeout games, there's about a zero percent chance LeBron James feels comfortable on the brink of elimination. He put the onus on his underdog side to play "20 times better" at Oracle Arena for Game 5.

No pressure.