OAKLAND, CA- The Cleveland Cavaliers should have won Game 1--or at least had a quality shot to do so. After swapping blows all game long, the Cavs and Warriors were knotted up at 107 with 4.7 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter.
George Hill shot the second of two free throws, missing short off the front rim. As the ball caromed back down into the paint, Cavs guard J.R. Smith, a player not known for his rebounding skills, snatched the ball out of the air, giving Cleveland a chance to put the nail in Golden State’s Game 1 coffin. Oh, what a storyline it would have been: LeBron James with a historic 51-point performance as the Cavs grab a 1-0 series lead against the greatest team in the history of basketball. But it didn’t happen. The Cavs didn’t hit a game-winning bucket; in fact, they didn’t even get off a shot at all.
In puzzling fashion, J.R. Smith dribbled the ball back towards half court, bleeding out the clock before he realized his mistake and heaved the ball to George Hill for a blocked 3-point attempt. The regulation buzzer sounded, and LeBron threw his hands up in disbelief, contorting his face into an expression that would almost immediately become a meme reaching all corners of the internet.
In the ensuing overtime period, the Cavs got worked, recording a measly 7 points as Golden State exploded for 17. Game 1 was in the books: Golden State wins in overtime, 124-114.
Regardless of final outcome, this game demonstrated the potential for a close series between the best player on the planet and the best team in the world. I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t thrilled for “Cavs-Warriors IV”--I figured it’d be a four- or five-game blowout and that LeBron would probably put up monster numbers to no avail. But this one was anything but a blowout; when the Warriors threw haymakers, the Cavs clapped back. Cleveland even opened up an 11-point lead in the 2nd quarter, begging the question: Can this Cavaliers team really keep up with the high-flying Warriors, or was Game 1 simply a superhuman effort by LeBron James that can’t and won’t be replicated going forward?
Looking at the box score, it appears that Cavs players not named LeBron James or Kevin Love didn’t play well. Love and James combined for 72, and the only other Cavs player in double figures was J.R. Smith (10). That said, Love is the only other Cleveland player who averages double-digit points in these playoffs, so it’s not as though the Cavs (minus LeBron) severely underperformed last night. In fact, looking past the box score, they effectively answered the bell on many of the Warriors’ signature scoring flurries. Because LeBron James won’t put up 51 every game, Cleveland needs other guys to step up and find ways to score the basketball, whether it be George Hill, Kyle Korver, or Jeff Green. Is this likely? Statistics say no.
On the Warriors’ side of things, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson poured in 29, 26, and 24 apiece, and Golden State shot 51.1% from the field and 36.1% from downtown. These numbers are right on par with--if not better than--their performance throughout the postseason; they shot the 3-ball at a 33.2%, 32.3%, and 38.2% clip in the San Antonio, New Orleans, and Houston series respectively, and Durant, Curry, and Thompson are averaging 28.8, 25.2, and 20.7 PPG in these playoffs.
So, what’s the conclusion? Both the Warriors and Cavs showed up as would be statistically predicted, LeBron James played out of his mind, and Kevin Love had an above average showing. If the Cavs are to have any shot in this series, either LeBron James will have to play at an unprecedented level (we’re talking Wilt Chamberlain in ‘61-’62), or someone else on Cleveland’s roster is going to have to step up.
I’m not too confident in either happening, but the King has proven us wrong before. I say Warriors in five.
(Stats via ESPN, Basketball-Reference, and NBA.com)
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