Cavs’ clarity

On paper, the Cleveland Cavaliers only lost one game on the road. In reality, it was a very painful loss, quite possibly their best chance to steal a game from the defending champion Golden State Warriors, who are nearly invincible at home, having only lost one game at Oracle Arena in the post-season. On paper, the overtime loss was expected. However, in the real world, Cleveland had every chance to win it.

LeBron James was brilliant all game long, posting the only 50+ point game in an NBA Finals loss, and along with Russell Westbrook, the only playoff performance with that stat line (50 or more points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists) since 1984. He also tied Michael Jordan by scoring at least 30 points in 109 playoff games, also a record. Of course, all this was overshadowed by the errors in officiating and the blunder by JR Smith which allowed the game to go into overtime.

What did Cleveland do right in Game 1?

They built an early lead. The visitors shot well and forced defensive mismatches on the part of the Warriors, at one point, leading by 11. This served as something of a cushion when the devastating third-quarter run by Golden State came. Cleveland out-rebounded Golden State by 15 offensive boards, which helped limit the home team’s chances to run the ball up. Larry Nance Jr., Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson were the top three players in terms of rebound percentage (getting the highest percentage of available rebounds while they were on the floor). Draymond Green was fourth. The Cavs had 11 more second-chance points than the Warriors. 

What became obvious was that Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue made it a point to force Steph Curry to switch onto James when the Warriors were on defense. The guards whom Curry defended against would literally walk up to James and set a pick, and Curry would have no choice but to switch. The Warriors switching all the time, regardless of the offensive players’ size or position. The hope was that it would be easier for James to score (which proved evident), and Curry would tire and score less. In the Houston series, the Rockets fed the ball to whomever the smaller Curry was guarding, to reasonable success. The Warriors were not double-teaming, so Curry’s shortcomings on defense were exposed.

One thing that stands out, though, is that 16 of LeBron’s 19 field goals did not come from an assist, and yet, he led everyone in points in the paint. Ironically, he led the Cavs in assists. This means several things. One, the rest of the Cavs did not help create opportunities for LeBron to score by screening or pick and roll or give and go plays. James was constantly having to drive to the basket and make something happen by himself. All the offensive rebounds indicate that other Cavs players were also close enough to the basket to be immediate scoring threats and could have served as decoys, at the very least.

Of course, one could argue that the sloppy officiating cost Cleveland the game. From this writer’s perspective, the most egregious offense was missing the lane violation of Kevin Durant on George Hill’s second free throw with 4.7 seconds left in regulation. Had that been called, Hill would have been given a third free throw, the Cavs would have most likely had the lead, and Golden State would have had very little time to hit a game-winner. But as I often say, you have to put yourself in a situation wherein external factors will not decide the game for you. Cleveland didn’t take care of the ball as well as Golden State, which blunted their advantage off the boards. 

Cleveland has to have the emotional fortitude to remember only the lessons of Game 1, and detach themselves from the pain of the loss. The missed free throw and JR Smith’s mental lapse are the past. Blame – specially self-blame – will only weigh them down. Though his error is being made out to be one of the worst in all of team sports, he is a valuable contributor to the team, and a friend of James. How long he takes to get over it will be a key to the Cavs’ success in the series. As long as his teammates continue to trust him and he trusts himself, it should no longer be an issue.

Obviously, Golden State will make some adjustments like employing different defensive strategies for Game 2, and Kevin Durant will shoot better. If nothing else, Cleveland proved that it can steal a game on the road, with just a little more help from its bench.