History strongly suggest that the Cleveland Cavaliers' chances of overcoming their 3-1 NBA Finals deficit to the defending champion Golden State Warriors won't get any easier from here.

According to ESPN, teams that have found themselves in the kind of 3-1 hole the Cavs find themselves in heading into Game 5 at Oracle Arena (8 p.m. EDT, watch live stream here) are 0-32 all-time in terms of coming back to win the series.

Green may be Warriors' MVP

Granted, not many of those teams were forced to suit up for the potential clincher with arguably their most important player (14 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks in the series) relegated to the sidelines.

Draymond Green will be missing in action after being suspended by the league after menacingly swinging his arm in the area of LeBron James' man region late in Game 4. The All-Star forward was banished for a game based on the overall number of flagrant foul points he has accrued this postseason.

What that comes to mean to the Cavs and their overall chances remains to be seen. What is clear is Cleveland desperately needs more production from All-Star forward Kevin Love, who perhaps not so coincidentally has been matched up against Green for most of the series.

But having been outscored by an average of 20 points in their three losses, the Cavs can't afford to take anything for granted.

"We still have to play," said Coach Tyronn Lue. "I mean, it doesn't mean anything because he's suspended. They still have a great team, and we have to come out and play basketball. We can't worry about the suspension."

James, Irving Need Help

The Warriors have lost just three times at home this season and Oracle will be a madhouse from the opening tip on Monday. To answer the bell, the Cavs will need to fine tune their offense to the point they can count on steady contributions from others outside of James and star guard Kyrie Irving.

The two combined to take 49 of the 68 shots hoisted by Cavs' starters in Game 5, including 33 of the 38 they put up in the second half.

For Golden State, the aim will be more of the same. After struggling to three straight under 20-point games to open the series, two-time MVP Steph Curry exploded for 38 in Game 4, while running-mate Klay Thompson chipped in with 25.

Related