The Cleveland Cavaliers have poked fun at the Golden State Warriors all summer and fall for surrendering a 3-1 series lead in the last season’s NBA Finals, which resulted in the Cavs’ first championship.
The trash talk between the teams hasn’t subsided since June’s matchup, and it was ratcheted up again when Cleveland guard Iman Shumpert did an interview with Complex and responded to Draymond Green’s recent comments about the Cavs.
“He should. We supposed to hate them, and they supposed to hate us. It’s OK,” Shumpert said. “They supposed to take cheap shots at us. They’re gonna hate us, fam. That’s what sports is. It’s great. I love every bit of it. I’m glad he said that ’cause we gon’ bust they ass, too. You need to type that up: We gon’ bust your ass. Period.”
These teams don’t have their NBA Finals rematch until Christmas Day when Cleveland hosts Golden State at Quicken Loans Arena, so it’s going to be a little while before this rivalry is fought out on the court and not the media.
If they meet in the NBA Finals next spring, it will be the first time two teams have squared off in the championship series three straight seasons. A full trilogy wouldn’t be so bad, would it?
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
