Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James' annual Halloween party made headlines this week—and not just for the always eclectic mix of costumes.
James (or at least his party decorators) got in on the fun of mocking the Golden State Warriors for blowing a 3-1 lead to the Cavaliers in last year's NBA Finals. There was a drum set with "3-1 Lead" spookily engraved and cookies with the tombstones of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson engraved:
While it was all in good fun, Warriors players made it clear Tuesday they had heard James' message loud and clear.
"Last year in their arena, it stilled smelled like champagne. I don't think they like that Steph [Curry] said that," Warriors guard Shaun Livingston told ESPN.com's Chris Haynes. "... Guys see it and everybody feels their own way about it, but it just fuels everybody for the next time we play them."
Curry, never shy from his own form of trash talk, told reporters in January he hoped the Cavaliers' visiting locker room still smelled like champagne from their 2015 championship. Golden State subsequently went on to a record-setting 73-win regular season and was one game from its second straight title before Cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit behind James' herculean effort.
"It is what it is," Livingston said. "All it is is more fuel for the fire. That's it. We're not going to say, 'All, that's great, we like it.' But it is what it is. It's part of the sport."
Kevin Durant, who signed with the Warriors last season after his Thunder blew their own 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals, was a little less bothered:
I wasn't here last year but I obviously know from being on the team, you don't want to see nothing like that [from Cavs]. Me personally, it's just jokes because you still have to play. Just like I'm sure there were so many jokes that went on about Cleveland and LeBron over the years, and you still have to play on the court. So none of that s--- matters until you duke it out on the court.
The teams go head-to-head for the first time since the Finals on Christmas Day. Both are far and away the favorites to represent their respective conferences in June again, which would be the first time in NBA history we've had a trilogy Finals.
Only a couple of games into the season, it's way too early to look ahead. Their regular-season matchup will be fun, but nothing will be settled for either side until they get a rubber match.
That said, we can all be thankful for one thing: LeBron is a heck of a lot better now at bragging about rings than that time he tried rapping about it.
Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.