GS is gonna blow this game. They have the 2017 Defensive Player Of The Year in Draymond Green yet they're letting Curry cover Lebron on these switches. Stupid move.
@stevek said:
Win or lose, James played a heluva game. Giving a lot of credit where a lot of credit is due.
The Cavs should have won this game. Between Hill's missed FT & JR's brainfart, they blew it.
The Cavs used a lot of gasoline in this game. Considering how it played out, they had to win this game for any shot at winning the series. They just didn't quite get it done.
@Brick said:
Reviewing the charge/block and reversing the call was the real game changer. Perhaps this is the year the sixth man award goes to an official.
It wasn't cut & dry, Lebron never stopped moving and thats why they changed it.
I love Draymonds play, but he could lose the antics. He is even more mouth than Rodman was. He had better cool it or he could rack up enough "T's" to get a suspension.
@stevek said:
Win or lose, James played a heluva game. Giving a lot of credit where a lot of credit is due.
The Cavs should have won this game. Between Hill's missed FT & JR's brainfart, they blew it.
The Cavs used a lot of gasoline in this game. Considering how it played out, they had to win this game for any shot at winning the series. They just didn't quite get it done.
Its gonna be very entertaining series if the Cavs play like this every night. Lebron has gotta be pissed that they gave GS a second chance for the win. Had Hill hit the free throw there would have been a few seconds for GS to take a shot for the win and who knows what would have happened then.
@Brick said:
Reviewing the charge/block and reversing the call was the real game changer. Perhaps this is the year the sixth man award goes to an official.
It wasn't cut & dry, Lebron never stopped moving and thats why they changed it.
I agree that was a close call and Could have gone either way. Just weird seeing it changed. I'd be upset too if I was a Cleveland fan
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@Brick said:
Reviewing the charge/block and reversing the call was the real game changer. Perhaps this is the year the sixth man award goes to an official.
It wasn't cut & dry, Lebron never stopped moving and thats why they changed it.
I agree that was a close call and Could have gone either way. Just weird seeing it changed. I'd be upset too if I was a Cleveland fan
m
Once it went to review you just knew it would be a homecourt call.
@Brick said:
Reviewing the charge/block and reversing the call was the real game changer. Perhaps this is the year the sixth man award goes to an official.
It wasn't cut & dry, Lebron never stopped moving and thats why they changed it.
I agree that was a close call and Could have gone either way. Just weird seeing it changed. I'd be upset too if I was a Cleveland fan
m
Once it went to review you just knew it would be a homecourt call.
Indeed. By the way I thought it was the right call ( foul on James ) BUT close
M
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
LBJ was wide open at the top of the arc when J.R. had an implosion between the ears. if he had had proper awareness and dished the rock like he should have, we might be revisiting the goat convo with 50+ & a game winner
@galaxy27 said:
LBJ was wide open at the top of the arc when J.R. had an implosion between the ears. if he had had proper awareness and dished the rock like he should have, we might be revisiting the goat convo with 50+ & a game winner
I just watched that play three times in a row and all he had to do was upfake Durant and take a shot. He had no one else in front of him under the basket.
I’ve never been a J.R. fan but I sort of feel bad for him as dumb as they play was. How do you sleep after that?
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@Brick said:
Reviewing the charge/block and reversing the call was the real game changer. Perhaps this is the year the sixth man award goes to an official.
It wasn't cut & dry, Lebron never stopped moving and thats why they changed it.
I agree that was a close call and Could have gone either way. Just weird seeing it changed. I'd be upset too if I was a Cleveland fan
m
I agree. In real speed it looked like a charge, but in slo mo.....Labron was still moving as Mark stated.
Great game except for all the trash talk at the end.
If GS plays like they did for that first 48 minutes this series will probably go a full 7. They got killed on the boards and their defensive matchups made no sense at times.
my guess is that this wasn't exactly what all the Warrior supporters were expecting, right?? a few salient point from my LoftyPerch...............................the Refs missed quite a few calls, especially at the end and they tended to go the way of the Warriors. not whining, that's just what the cameras showed. too many clean strips by the Cavs called as fouls and clear fouls by the Warriors seen as clean strips. add the charge reversal and the outcome was almost predictable.
all the same, it comes down to making one free throw or realizing what the score is. when Hill missed the free throw and Cleveland rebounded it should have been an immediate time-out --- immediate. draw up the play, inbound and shoot for the win.
it was still a fun game to watch but a hard loss to stomach.
@keets said:
my guess is that this wasn't exactly what all the Warrior supporters were expecting, right?? a few salient point from my LoftyPerch...............................the Refs missed quite a few calls, especially at the end and they tended to go the way of the Warriors. not whining, that's just what the cameras showed. too many clean strips by the Cavs called as fouls and clear fouls by the Warriors seen as clean strips. add the charge reversal and the outcome was almost predictable.
all the same, it comes down to making one free throw or realizing what the score is. when Hill missed the free throw and Cleveland rebounded it should have been an immediate time-out --- immediate. draw up the play, inbound and shoot for the win.
it was still a fun game to watch but a hard loss to stomach.
Cavs deserved to win that game,just couldn't finish it.
Very entertaining game. Game 1 was close throughout and went to overtime. What I was hoping for.
A few observations.
James is the best player in the world.
Whoever believes Cleveland is outclassed and has no chance of winning the series are delusional.
The first half was a thing of beauty, with both teams playing excellent basketball.
Cleveland and GS both shot poorly from three point range.
Cleveland dominated in the area of offensive rebounds. Cleveland was very active on the boards and as a result obtained tipped balls, fumbled balls, stray rebound and by doing so obtained additional offensive possessions.
GS had a low number of turnovers and a high numbers of assists. This evidences good control of the ball and excellent ball movement.
The refs were pretty good, allowing both teams to play. However a couple of calls that went against Cleveland were ones that are questionable. One was when James was fouled but it did not get called. Another was when James was called for a foul and it appeared he did not foul. The blocking foul on James toward the end of the 4th quarter allowing Durant to make free throws to toe the game to me was close. It could have been a charge on Durant, but James was moving his body to his left to get in front of Durant. My playing days in high school and college saw blocking fouls like this being called all the time.
JR Smith made mental mistakes at the end of the first half (not defending Curry at all, allowing Curry to hit a three) and thinking his team had a lead after George Hill missed a free throw, getting the rebound and dribbling the ball to run out the clock instead of trying to get a winning shot. Bonehead play. Jame reaction to Smith's gaffe was real and his face showed pain, incredulity and exasperation.
Kevin Love played great. So did many others on Cleveland.
GS got solid performances from many players. No single player on GS dominated. Each of the 4 All Stars on GS stepped up and performed at various times during the game.i think Curry had the best individual performance for GS in game 1.
GS had spurts in the third quarter to give it leads. However Cleveland responded and prevented the lead from getting out of hand.
Cleveland was in a position to win in regulation but a series of events resulted in a tie and overtime..
GS made their shots to open a 7 point lead in overtime. Cleveland was unable to match GS and as a result GS built double digit lead that Cleveland could not overcome
14 very glad that the injuries suffered by Klay Thompson (leg/knee) and James (eye) appear not to be serious.
I expect the ratings for game 1 to be very good. I expect and hope that game 2 will be a nail biter like game 1.
Overall game 1 was a very entertaining game to watch.
<<< Whoever believes Cleveland is outclassed and has no chance of winning the series are delusional. >>>
Well that's your opinion and that's fine. However the bottom line is the Cavs played their hearts out in that game, while the Warriors at times looked like they were sleepwalking out there, and the Warriors still won.
That basically fits a definition of being outclassed, when things go in a team's favor, but they still lose.
while the Warriors at times looked like they were sleepwalking out there
this is a Team's fan denying that "at times the Warriors were outplayed" because the media line has been exactly that. the media line has also been that the Cavs simply cannot play at the level they demonstrated last night, but they clearly can. I posted above that a key was Cleveland's success in preventing that Golden State 3rd quarter run and for the most part they did. in the end, when the dust had settled, Golden State outplayed Cleveland for five minutes and that was all that counted.
again from my LoftyPerch, the game really turned on a few things that Cleveland did, chiefly their insistence on playing isolation with Lebron James. even as it was successful I still screamed at the other players to move and told those I was watching with that "Cleveland won't win if that's their style of play." the second was the ability of Golden State to get someone behind the Cavs whenever they missed shots, that cost them dearly in transition points.
two players for Cleveland and two for the Warriors really affected the game.
--- for Cleveland, Larry Nance, Jr. seemed to effectively steal time from Tristan Thompson. that worked but the time Jordan Clarkson took from Hill really hurt. I don't see him as a viable option and wish that Coach Lue would use Jose Calderone instead. he is a superior defender and although he doesn't score that isn't missed, Clarkson ability there is limited.
--- for Golden State it was Shaun Livingston and Looney. they both showed an ability to penetrate under the glass and disrupted the defense when they were playing. maybe they didn't score themselves, but they allowed others to get better looks, the guys who typically shoot at a higher percentage.
my take away from this game is clear --- since neither Team was really able to "impose its will" on the other(sorry, Mark ) they will both have to try to figure out how to play better.
I hope this doesn't sound like a Cav's homer comment, but overall I think it was a typical NBA home victory. it happens all the time when the major game changing calls tend to favor the home Team. played in Cleveland last night the outcome almost certainly would have been different. considering the long range, poor shooting from both Teams I would say that Game 2 favors Golden State --- however --- Steph Curry tends to shrink in these games against Cleveland. he made some amazing rainbows but along with Durant was held to sanity. I will trade off Lebron James scoring for Curry/Durant every game. that means the other players are left to decide the rest of the score. yesterday the Warriors won that battle.
Well of course the Cavs can "play at the level they demonstrated last night". I mean they won the championship two seasons ago, and were in it last season, and are in it this season - that fits any description of playing at a high level.
The question is which team can play at a "higher" level than the other team, and that team in my view is clearly the Warriors.
Then it comes down to motivation. Do the Warriors want to win this championship enough to want to do what it takes to play at a higher level than the Cavs? In my opinion they still have the motivation. I remember how ticked off the Warriors were after losing two seasons ago...and despite the Warriors winning it last season, I think they still have a bad taste in their mouth from losing two seasons ago, and do not wish to repeat it.
Frankly, what i saw last night, yes the Warriors were sleepwalking at times, but that was because Kerr knows how to pace a team for a long season and a tough final series. He knows how to press the buttons to step it up at the right time. Sometimes the players pace themselves too much and the sleepwalking effect occurs. That's where the coaching comes in, to get them to step it up at the right time. Sometimes though it doesn't work as planned, as the Warriors almost blew that game.
The Cavs went for broke in last night's game, going full blast start to finish. In my view, that really is not good coaching. However as big underdogs, I guess the Cavs coach figured he had no choice. Frankly, if the Cavs won that game anyway, it would have hissed off the Warriors so much, i have no doubt the Warriors would have won the next 4 games perhaps easily. As it stands now, this series is officially over, and everybody including the Cavs knows it. Just a question of going thru the motions while the Warriors win the series by 4-0, 4-1, or 4-2, doesn't really matter which.
JR Smith is all over the place with his explanation of that play. Last night you can clearly read his lips when he told Lebron "i thought we were ahead" just seconds after the regulation buzzer sounded and Lebron asked him what the hell happened. Ty Lue even said JR thought they were ahead at that point.
Then JR is saying he knew they were tied and was waiting for someone to call a timeout. You had the ball in your hands and should have called it yourself or just gone up with a shot. He got the ball with 4.6 seconds left,that was plenty of time to try get a bucket or fouled.
Comments
Its because Draymond can't shut his mouth..ever.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
i love Draymond's motor and willingness to d-up to the max, but he may be the biggest punk in pro sports
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
I'm surprised they had him covering Love,Durant on Thompson and the combo of Looney,Bell & Young on Lebron. Green should be on Lebron.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
JVG said the refs are graded on every call. i'd pay a handsome sum to read the report from G7 of the western conference finals
harden raked on the arm on a 3-pt attempt but no call (D-)
potential 4-pt play by harden completely nullified (F)
jordan bell with the most egregious moving screen in the history of basketball, freeing up curry for a 3 (F-)
no-call when eric gordon was molested by two defenders (F+)
edit: aaaaaaand the warriors' alarm clock goes off
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
lol that was the ugliest under the basket shot attempt ever
he got stuffed by the rim
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Harden gets away with more charges than anyone I have EVER seen......EVER!
the nba graded that comment
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
To his credit he'd get an A for spelling.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
bazinga
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
If you don't see it....you are just a Harden Homie.
Only a +6 for GS in the 3rd. That's almost a win for the cavs.
GS is gonna blow this game. They have the 2017 Defensive Player Of The Year in Draymond Green yet they're letting Curry cover Lebron on these switches. Stupid move.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
lmao damn JR
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
j.r. with a brain fart for the ages
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Heckuva game.
WOW....what a game.....here we go OT!
i hope this game goes 5 OTs so LeBron can score 125 points
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
I would think that OT would favor the Warriors in this spot.
If they keep letting Curry stay on him after the switch he might only need 2 OTs
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Win or lose, James played a heluva game. Giving a lot of credit where a lot of credit is due.
That Green three was a dagger
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
The Cavs should have won this game. Between Hill's missed FT & JR's brainfart, they blew it.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
comfortable double-digit win
in all seriousness, im sick to my stomach that Cleveland didnt win that game. they played their asses off and deserved it
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Great game until that crap at the end of OT.
It was a great game until that last 30 seconds.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Lebron could end up with 50+ in every game.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Reviewing the charge/block and reversing the call was the real game changer. Perhaps this is the year the sixth man award goes to an official.
http://www.unisquare.com/store/brick/
Ralph
The Cavs used a lot of gasoline in this game. Considering how it played out, they had to win this game for any shot at winning the series. They just didn't quite get it done.
It wasn't cut & dry, Lebron never stopped moving and thats why they changed it.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
I love Draymonds play, but he could lose the antics. He is even more mouth than Rodman was. He had better cool it or he could rack up enough "T's" to get a suspension.
Its gonna be very entertaining series if the Cavs play like this every night. Lebron has gotta be pissed that they gave GS a second chance for the win. Had Hill hit the free throw there would have been a few seconds for GS to take a shot for the win and who knows what would have happened then.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
I agree that was a close call and Could have gone either way. Just weird seeing it changed. I'd be upset too if I was a Cleveland fan
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Once it went to review you just knew it would be a homecourt call.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Indeed. By the way I thought it was the right call ( foul on James ) BUT close
M
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
LBJ was wide open at the top of the arc when J.R. had an implosion between the ears. if he had had proper awareness and dished the rock like he should have, we might be revisiting the goat convo with 50+ & a game winner
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
I just watched that play three times in a row and all he had to do was upfake Durant and take a shot. He had no one else in front of him under the basket.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
I’ve never been a J.R. fan but I sort of feel bad for him as dumb as they play was. How do you sleep after that?
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I agree. In real speed it looked like a charge, but in slo mo.....Labron was still moving as Mark stated.
Great game except for all the trash talk at the end.
if we were playing a hypothetical game of "take a stab at keets' level of belligerence right about now on a 1-10 scale," my guess would be 177
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Hill too,he's 80% for his career at the FT line.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
he alligator armed that 2nd attempt. in golf parlance that's called having the yips
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
If GS plays like they did for that first 48 minutes this series will probably go a full 7. They got killed on the boards and their defensive matchups made no sense at times.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
my guess is that this wasn't exactly what all the Warrior supporters were expecting, right?? a few salient point from my LoftyPerch...............................the Refs missed quite a few calls, especially at the end and they tended to go the way of the Warriors. not whining, that's just what the cameras showed. too many clean strips by the Cavs called as fouls and clear fouls by the Warriors seen as clean strips. add the charge reversal and the outcome was almost predictable.
all the same, it comes down to making one free throw or realizing what the score is. when Hill missed the free throw and Cleveland rebounded it should have been an immediate time-out --- immediate. draw up the play, inbound and shoot for the win.
it was still a fun game to watch but a hard loss to stomach.
Cavs deserved to win that game,just couldn't finish it.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Very entertaining game. Game 1 was close throughout and went to overtime. What I was hoping for.
A few observations.
James is the best player in the world.
Whoever believes Cleveland is outclassed and has no chance of winning the series are delusional.
The first half was a thing of beauty, with both teams playing excellent basketball.
Cleveland and GS both shot poorly from three point range.
Cleveland dominated in the area of offensive rebounds. Cleveland was very active on the boards and as a result obtained tipped balls, fumbled balls, stray rebound and by doing so obtained additional offensive possessions.
GS had a low number of turnovers and a high numbers of assists. This evidences good control of the ball and excellent ball movement.
The refs were pretty good, allowing both teams to play. However a couple of calls that went against Cleveland were ones that are questionable. One was when James was fouled but it did not get called. Another was when James was called for a foul and it appeared he did not foul. The blocking foul on James toward the end of the 4th quarter allowing Durant to make free throws to toe the game to me was close. It could have been a charge on Durant, but James was moving his body to his left to get in front of Durant. My playing days in high school and college saw blocking fouls like this being called all the time.
JR Smith made mental mistakes at the end of the first half (not defending Curry at all, allowing Curry to hit a three) and thinking his team had a lead after George Hill missed a free throw, getting the rebound and dribbling the ball to run out the clock instead of trying to get a winning shot. Bonehead play. Jame reaction to Smith's gaffe was real and his face showed pain, incredulity and exasperation.
Kevin Love played great. So did many others on Cleveland.
GS got solid performances from many players. No single player on GS dominated. Each of the 4 All Stars on GS stepped up and performed at various times during the game.i think Curry had the best individual performance for GS in game 1.
GS had spurts in the third quarter to give it leads. However Cleveland responded and prevented the lead from getting out of hand.
Cleveland was in a position to win in regulation but a series of events resulted in a tie and overtime..
GS made their shots to open a 7 point lead in overtime. Cleveland was unable to match GS and as a result GS built double digit lead that Cleveland could not overcome
14 very glad that the injuries suffered by Klay Thompson (leg/knee) and James (eye) appear not to be serious.
I expect the ratings for game 1 to be very good. I expect and hope that game 2 will be a nail biter like game 1.
Overall game 1 was a very entertaining game to watch.
<<< Whoever believes Cleveland is outclassed and has no chance of winning the series are delusional. >>>
Well that's your opinion and that's fine. However the bottom line is the Cavs played their hearts out in that game, while the Warriors at times looked like they were sleepwalking out there, and the Warriors still won.
That basically fits a definition of being outclassed, when things go in a team's favor, but they still lose.
The legend of JR Buckner
while the Warriors at times looked like they were sleepwalking out there
this is a Team's fan denying that "at times the Warriors were outplayed" because the media line has been exactly that. the media line has also been that the Cavs simply cannot play at the level they demonstrated last night, but they clearly can. I posted above that a key was Cleveland's success in preventing that Golden State 3rd quarter run and for the most part they did. in the end, when the dust had settled, Golden State outplayed Cleveland for five minutes and that was all that counted.
again from my LoftyPerch, the game really turned on a few things that Cleveland did, chiefly their insistence on playing isolation with Lebron James. even as it was successful I still screamed at the other players to move and told those I was watching with that "Cleveland won't win if that's their style of play." the second was the ability of Golden State to get someone behind the Cavs whenever they missed shots, that cost them dearly in transition points.
two players for Cleveland and two for the Warriors really affected the game.
--- for Cleveland, Larry Nance, Jr. seemed to effectively steal time from Tristan Thompson. that worked but the time Jordan Clarkson took from Hill really hurt. I don't see him as a viable option and wish that Coach Lue would use Jose Calderone instead. he is a superior defender and although he doesn't score that isn't missed, Clarkson ability there is limited.
--- for Golden State it was Shaun Livingston and Looney. they both showed an ability to penetrate under the glass and disrupted the defense when they were playing. maybe they didn't score themselves, but they allowed others to get better looks, the guys who typically shoot at a higher percentage.
my take away from this game is clear --- since neither Team was really able to "impose its will" on the other(sorry, Mark
) they will both have to try to figure out how to play better.
I hope this doesn't sound like a Cav's homer comment, but overall I think it was a typical NBA home victory. it happens all the time when the major game changing calls tend to favor the home Team. played in Cleveland last night the outcome almost certainly would have been different. considering the long range, poor shooting from both Teams I would say that Game 2 favors Golden State --- however --- Steph Curry tends to shrink in these games against Cleveland. he made some amazing rainbows but along with Durant was held to sanity. I will trade off Lebron James scoring for Curry/Durant every game. that means the other players are left to decide the rest of the score. yesterday the Warriors won that battle.
Well of course the Cavs can "play at the level they demonstrated last night". I mean they won the championship two seasons ago, and were in it last season, and are in it this season - that fits any description of playing at a high level.
The question is which team can play at a "higher" level than the other team, and that team in my view is clearly the Warriors.
Then it comes down to motivation. Do the Warriors want to win this championship enough to want to do what it takes to play at a higher level than the Cavs? In my opinion they still have the motivation. I remember how ticked off the Warriors were after losing two seasons ago...and despite the Warriors winning it last season, I think they still have a bad taste in their mouth from losing two seasons ago, and do not wish to repeat it.
Frankly, what i saw last night, yes the Warriors were sleepwalking at times, but that was because Kerr knows how to pace a team for a long season and a tough final series. He knows how to press the buttons to step it up at the right time. Sometimes the players pace themselves too much and the sleepwalking effect occurs. That's where the coaching comes in, to get them to step it up at the right time. Sometimes though it doesn't work as planned, as the Warriors almost blew that game.
The Cavs went for broke in last night's game, going full blast start to finish. In my view, that really is not good coaching. However as big underdogs, I guess the Cavs coach figured he had no choice. Frankly, if the Cavs won that game anyway, it would have hissed off the Warriors so much, i have no doubt the Warriors would have won the next 4 games perhaps easily. As it stands now, this series is officially over, and everybody including the Cavs knows it. Just a question of going thru the motions while the Warriors win the series by 4-0, 4-1, or 4-2, doesn't really matter which.
JR Smith is all over the place with his explanation of that play. Last night you can clearly read his lips when he told Lebron "i thought we were ahead" just seconds after the regulation buzzer sounded and Lebron asked him what the hell happened. Ty Lue even said JR thought they were ahead at that point.
Then JR is saying he knew they were tied and was waiting for someone to call a timeout. You had the ball in your hands and should have called it yourself or just gone up with a shot. He got the ball with 4.6 seconds left,that was plenty of time to try get a bucket or fouled.
Eric
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