Jun 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) dunks the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward James Jones (1) in game one of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ezra Shaw-Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports
“It was great. This is so much fun,” said head coach Steve Kerr. “This is what we all dream of in the NBA, to play in The Finals, to coach in The Finals, to be part of all of this, two great teams.
After more than a week without basketball, fans across the world were rewarded with the best game of the postseason. Oracle Arena was as loud as any game in recent memory, LeBron James and Stephen Curry traded points and in the end, the Warriors depth proved too much for the Cavaliers to handle.
-== 5 Reasons Why the Warriors Will Beat the Cavaliers ==-
The Warriors, as what has become almost customary throughout the season, started off slowly. They failed to find an offensive rhythm, forcing up early, contested shots and not moving the ball as fluidly as they could. On the contrary, the Cavaliers – especially LeBron James – played as if they were at home, mustering up a 14-point lead at one point in the first quarter.
For anyone that has paid attention this season, the Warriors are hardly discouraged when trailing, even by larger margins. It was an inauspicious start to the NBA Finals for the prohibitive favorites, but as has been the case all season, it’s a matter of if, not when, the Warriors find their groove and start to unleash their will on the opposition.
June 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
“We were just a little rusty,” said Klay Thompson following the 108-101 overtime win. “After the first six minutes I feel like we started moving the ball a lot better, and our bench unit did a great job establishing the ball movement and playing in a great flow, and we learned that from our starters on the bench, we saw how effective that was, and we did a better job of that.”
Steve Kerr prefers Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to rest to begin the second quarter, and that was certainly the case on Thursday. With Leandro Barbosa and Shaun Livingston starting the second stanza, the lead chipped away and as Thompson said, gave the starters a jolt as they saw the energy being brought from the second-unit.
“I do believe in our depth. You know, we played ten people,” said Kerr. “Mo Speights was fantastic tonight. We play a lot of people and we feel like over the course of a game and maybe in overtime we can keep fighting and good things will happen.”
The most important member of the bench was Andre Iguodala, who not only accounted 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting, but was assigned the arduous task of guarding LeBron James most of the night. Iguodala’s offensive output has succumbed to other talents in his game – ball-handling, defense and rebounding – but it was the collection of all that paved the way for his best game as a Warrior.
On plays directly guarded by Iguodala, James was 4-for-14 shooting for 11 points and three turnovers. When James was guarded by anyone not named Iguodala, he went 12-for-22 for 27 points. It was a phenomenal effort even given James’ output, who was hitting difficult shots all night and was displaying the very greatness that earned him four Most Valuable Player awards, two championships and the title of best player in the world.
“You’ve got a lot of talented players, guys are going to score the points,” Iguodala said. “You’ve got to get stops. The thing to do is make it hard for them. Don’t foul them. Make them take tough shots and the routes hard.”
Jun 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
There wasn’t much Iguodala could do to stop James. The self-proclaimed King shot the ball 38 times, which is the most he’s ever put up throughout his entire career. He missed 20 shots and only made two threes, but it was clear James was on an island the entire game, and it certainly doesn’t look better with the injury to Kyrie Irving late in the game.
Despite the Cavaliers’ offensive woes after their first quarter barrage, they had a chance to steal one at Oracle Arena on the final possession, which to the surprise of no one, ended in the hands of James. He’s hit game-winning shots in this building before and over the same defender, but it didn’t fall.
Once overtime came, the Warriors, as they’ve done all season, clamped down on the defensive end. With their small lineup, the Warriors gave the Cavaliers little room to even breathe and were able to get out in transition and force fouls, which accounted for 8 of the 10 points they scored in the extra period.
“We couldn’t get a good look. We couldn’t get nothing to drop, including myself,” said James. “J.R. had a really good look on the three at one point, but they just ramped it up a little bit. They got to the free‑throw line, and we didn’t get it. I mean, we really only had zero points, and I got the lay‑up at the end, but that didn’t mean much because they did a good job closing it in overtime.”
The Cavaliers will need a healthy Irving to have any chance at this series. Regardless of his status, the likes of JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson will have to hit shots and find room where they couldn’t in Game 1. It’s an extremely tough task given the one-on-one coverage James is receiving – which will only tighten if Irving misses time – but at this point, they’re desperate.
The Warriors ended up winning the rebounding battle and unleashed their will despite James’ greatness on Thursday. They’ve established their own presence, and besides James, the Cavaliers have yet to recognize theirs. With Irving possible down, the Cavaliers are beginning to draw straws, but it’s all they have at this point. There may not be many left for long.