If the Cavaliers can come into Oracle Arena and steal one of the the first two games, the fourth version of this repetitive NBA Finals matchup — becoming dull to some because of the presumed lack of competitiveness — will have unexpected juice as it moves to Cleveland.



But if the Warriors open with the two convincing home wins most are predicting, minds will shift toward the more supplemental, fringe storylines. For Cleveland, speculation regarding LeBron James’ future rules that realm. For the Warriors, the Finals MVP chatter will ramp up and, specifically, whether Steph Curry — the unquestioned front man of this franchise’s rapid rise this decade — will finally capture that last elusive final check mark on his sparkling hoops résumé.



“It took ’til the second question of my first media availability (to be asked about it),” Curry said Wednesday. “So I’m pretty sure that narrative’s...