Game 1 was purely dominated the Golden State Warriors. Let’s get that statement out of the way now. As previously stated in the Game 1 Preview of these finals; the Cleveland Cavaliers can not turn the ball over against this Warriors team and that’s exactly what they did. Cleveland coughed the ball up 20 times (eight coming from LeBron alone) which resulted in 21 POTs for the Warriors while the Warriors only turned over four times.
Even though the Cavs won the rebound battle by a small margin of 59 to 50, they lost the points in the paint battle and also didn’t get a single steal in the game. For the record that’s a record.
If Cleveland wishes to even make a push for the Larry O’Brien trophy, then they have to control their tempo and also Golden States. Cleveland’s largest lead was just four points to a staggering 24 by the Warriors.
Cleveland’s role players were awful. Without the penetration of James and Irving, players like Smith, Korver, Frye and Love don’t get the normal shots they’re accustomed to. Korver went 0-for-3 from 3-point range in 19 minutes; can’t happen. Smith went 1-for-4 overall and 1-for-2 from deep; can’t happen. The others can’t have games like this if Cleveland even wants to stand a chance.
While they lead the playoffs with 10 bench points a game they only recorded six points to the Warriors 10. Not a big number from either bench but nonetheless every point counts when it comes to the finals.
Both teams duos showed out with Curry (28) and Durant (38) accounting for 66 of the Warriors 113 while James (28) and Irving (24) put up 52 of the Cavs 91. Will the duos go off again or will someone else be the man?
Klay Thompson didn’t have an astounding game as far as points but when guarded by Thompson the Cavs only went 1/12. His prowess as a defender makes his scoring disability thus far okay for the most part. Thompson still has yet to put up a decent scoring night so he should be the center of attention for fans and his own conscience.
Tristan Thompson was a liability for Cleveland as he only played 6 minutes in the 2nd half due to lack of production. The Warriors kept him off the boards and without rebounds then he’s basically a black hole on both offense and defense. James made it clear when asked what does Thompson have to do to turn his game around and James answered: “be himself”. All Thompson has to do is be himself; offensive boards along with hustle plays makes the engine move for Cleveland.
Giving up 14 offensive rebounds (even though Cleveland won) the Warriors will feast on second chance points with shooters on every wing and corner. Cleveland made it clear that they have to pick up their physicality and Golden State understands that as well. Cleveland focused too much on not giving up the 3 ball they left consistent scoring opportunities open leading to Durant having 6 dunks in just the first half. That can’t happen.
If Cleveland wants to steal this game they have to record a steal for one but also have to play their game. Golden State will feed off their crowd tonight given this is the last game in Oakland for a little while so they look to come out more focused and even more rejuvenated to go up 2-0.
Game 2 tips off at 8 EST on ABC
