Mark WiedmerRemember the 2004 American League Championship Series? Remember the Boston Red Sox climbing out of an 0-3 hole in that best-of-seven stunner against the dang Yankees of New York to become the first and only team in MLB history to win a postseason series from such a hapless start?
So here's a third sports question, its roots tied to that shocking comeback. In the wake of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 137-116 win over Golden State on Friday night - the Cavs were also in an 0-3 hole to the Warriors at the start of that game - does anyone now doubt last year's champs can stage a similar comeback to those 2004 BoSox?
Remember: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Co. overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Dubs to win last season's NBA Finals.
This isn't to say history definitely repeats. Anytime you can replace Harrison Barnes with Kevin Durant - as Golden State did in the offseason - you're clearly built to win it all. The Warriors didn't gain this year's 3-0 advantage on a halfcourt fling and a prayer.
Let's revisit a quote from King James himself after Durant buried a deep 3-pointer over him to shock the Cavs in Game 3: "It's the most firepower I've played in my career. I've played against some great teams, but I don't think no team has had this type of firepower."
Indeed, the Dubs aren't merely good. Or even very good. Golden State is great, bordering on legendary if it knocks off the Cavs for the second time in three years.
But that suddenly looks like a far bigger "if" than it did before Friday night. Cleveland's haymaker feels like so much more than a single victory. As ESPN's Tim Legler noted over the weekend, "(The Cavs) really manhandled Golden State. First time they've treated Golden State with a little disrespect, and that's what you need to do."
Now the Warriors need to earn some respect back by ending the title series tonight in Oakland, Calif., lest they find themselves right back where they were this time a year ago, up 3-2 and headed back to Cleveland. Worse yet, let them lose a Game 6 in The Land (as Cavs fans refer to their hometown) and the pressure to avoid becoming the first NBA team in history to blow a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series would be enormous.
I'm not yet suggesting that will happen, that the 127th time a team has been down 3-0 will become a charm for Cleveland.
The Cavs did play extraordinarily to win Game 4, especially point guard Irving, who finished with 40 points. Yet one record-breaking performance does not always lead to ultimate victory. Cleveland still needs to win three more in a row to repeat. Against a team as stout as Golden State, with all that firepower, that seems unlikely.
But it could happen, especially if the Cavs remain close to as hot from the 3-point line as they were in Game 4, when they knocked down an NBA Finals-record 24 3-pointers, which are 11 more than they averaged per game during the regular season.
Yet the scariest part for the Warriors moving forward might be that for all their well-earned reputation as a 3-point shooting machine, the Cavs were actually slightly better at that during the regular season. Cleveland shot it the tiniest bit better from beyond the arc - 38.4 percent to 38.3 - and averaged one more triple a game (13 to 12) than the Dubs prior to the playoffs.
Let that trend continue - given that the James Gang also looks more and more like the rougher, tougher team physically - and another Cleveland comeback certainly seems possible. That's especially true if Golden State can't stop irresistible forces James and Irving from getting to the rim with ease, which happened each of the past two games.
Beyond that, has anyone noticed the Warriors easily could have lost their past two games with head coach Steve Kerr back on the bench after appearing to play looser with Mike Brown at the helm for most of the playoffs as Kerr recovered from back surgery complications?
There aren't many certainties in sports. Rafa Nadal on the red clay of Roland Garros. Madison Bumgarner in the postseason. Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a popularity contest. Duke and North Carolina getting all the calls in hoops.
That's about it.
But the Warriors looked almost that untouchable after the first three games of these NBA Finals while running their record in these playoffs to 15-0. Suddenly they look just as capable of reprising last season's collapse.
"Different team, man," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said of the chance for a repeat meltdown.
We'll see.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.