The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors in overtime 108-100. They also lost their starting point guard Kyrie Irving in overtime, for the rest of the Finals, with a fractured left kneecap.
The Cavaliers led most of the way, including establishing an early 14-point lead, but the Warriors kept chipping away until they were tied at 73 at the end of the 3rd quarter, then the teams were tied at 98 at the end of regulation. However, overtime was all Golden State. They outscored Cleveland 10-2, and Cleveland’s only points were by LeBron James with 8 seconds left.
James had a huge game with 44 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, but missed the possible game-winner at the end of regulation, to force overtime. Irving had 23 points in the game, but only one other Cavalier was in double figures, center Timofey Mosgov had 16 points. Tristan Thompson did have 15 rebounds though.
The Warriors were led by MVP Stephen Curry‘s 26 points and 8 assists, while Klay Thompson heated up in the 2nd half, to finish with 21 points. Golden State had 5 players in double figures. So where does this leave us with Irving out for the rest of the Finals? How much of a chance does Cleveland still have? Almost none!
The Cavaliers are already missing Kevin Love, who has been out since early in the playoffs. That means without Irving, 2/3 of their Big 3 is injured. While James is clearly their best player, one player does not a team make. Even with 44 points from James, and the Warriors not playing particularly well, Golden State still won, and Irving played almost the whole game.
The NBA Finals should be over within 5 games. I think Cleveland might win either Game 3 or 4 at home, but that’s it. Golden State was going to win the series anyway, but the Irving injury just makes it easier.
Speculation has already started about how long Love will be with Cleveland, and don’t forget, James can opt-out of his contract at the end of this year. Yes, all the praise heaped on him for his loyalty in returning to his hometown team, but his contract allows him to leave after the Finals are over, if he wants. I don’t think he will, but he does have a history of leaving when the going gets tough.
He left Cleveland, who drafted him, so he could join Dwyane Wade and lure Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat where he was going to win how many, 9 Championships? Was that how many he said? 4 years later, and 2 titles won, he came back to Cleveland, to join Irving, and lure Love, to create another Big 3. He is in his 5th straight Finals, which hasn’t been done since the Boston Celtics were in it 10 years in a row, from 1957-1966, but after James loses this year, he will be 2-4 in NBA Finals in his career. Enough about him.
I’m looking forward to the crowning of a new NBA Champion in the Golden State Warriors, who haven’t won a title since 1975. Head coach Steve Kerr, in his rookie season, knows a little bit about winning championships himself. He won 5 as a player; 3 with the Chicago Bulls and 2 with the San Antonio Spurs. He actually made over 45% of his 3-pointers attempted, in his career. It will be interesting to see how many championships he will win as a head coach, 2015 will be his first.
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