Thursday night, the NBA Finals tips off with Warriors – Cavaliers – Part IV. The Warriors are big favorites in Vegas and if you have read any preview article, the best case for the Cavaliers is just to get it to a 7th game.
But no one expects Cleveland to win.
Rather than do what any number of websites are doing right now and digging into the statistical probabilities associated with the Warriors ultimately winning another title. We thought we would operate under the assumption that the Warriors will win and try to preview this matchup on an entertainment scale compared to the fourth sequels in movie series.
Category 1: Just Bad
The Cavaliers were one of the worst defensive teams all year while the Warriors were one of the best. Even if LeBron James is the best player in the series, the next four best are starting for Golden State. There’s a good chance this gets ugly which brings to mind some of the worst part fours such as…
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol – The highlight of this one is a young Sharon Stone and of course, Michael Winslow.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Unlike this upcoming NBA Finals, I was actually looking forward to this movie. The highlight is a couple of scenes with Harrison Ford and Karen Allen but overall it sucked.
Category 2: Bad but Good
If LeBron keeps doing what he’s doing and just pushes the Warriors to the brink game after game, even if it ends in 4 or 5 games, that’s going to be better than most expected
Rambo – This one clocked in at a tight 92 minutes and was just one ridiculous scene after another. I don’t know who the bad guys were or why he was shooting them but I wanted more and more from John Rambo.
American Reunion – This came out nearly ten years after the third movie in the series – American Wedding- and I’m not counting those off shoot straight to video releases involving just Jim’s dad. But I saw this on a plane and was mildly entertained in spite of the 44% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Category 3: Surprisingly Good
The Cavaliers bench coupled with a hobbled Andre Iguodala leads us to a more competitive series than we thought and maybe even a game six in Cleveland before the Warriors win.
X-Men: First Class – I didn’t expect much from this one especially after The Last Stand was just ok. But an infusion of young talent much like the roster overhaul the Cavs undertook at the trade deadline made this definitely rewatchable.
Jurassic World – Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but bringing together humans and genetically engineered dinosaurs is a bad idea. But unlike Jurassic Park III which I completely forgot about, Jurassic World was pretty entertaining although it had the same formula as the other movies as well as the upcoming Fallen Kingdom. We just shouldn’t genetically engineer dinosaurs. I know that’s not a popular opinion but it’s true.
Category 4: Just Flat Out Good
LeBron may be leaving Cleveland but he goes out with bang, going toe to toe with the Warriors all the way to a very entertaining game seven.
Fast and Furious – Turning point in the series – Dom and Brian are back after skipping Tokyo Drift, sets us on the path we’re on now with this series where we get an annual blockbuster that defies all laws both man-made and in nature.
Rocky IV – The greatest part 4 ever also involves a huge underdog. Rocky Balboa manages to beat Ivan Drago and help teach Russia (and the world) that we all can change. This film also ended the Cold War and is the jumping off point for the upcoming Creed 2.
I think we end up somewhere in Category 2. LeBron will make it fun to watch but this is a bad matchup and the Warriors win in 5.