One of the most anticipated games of the season, took place last night in Oakland, in the Oracle, where the number one seeded Golden State Warriors took on the defending champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first time in these 2017 NBA Finals. The margin of victory sums up the whole game. The final score, 113-91, showed how the Warriors are a different team than last year’s team, how they can lock up the Cavaliers defensively and can go on some really important runs, in crucial moments of the game. However, I don’t even believe that we have seen the Warriors at their absolute best, which to me shows how vulnerable the Cavaliers are especially defensively, how they, at points freeze on the offensive side of the floor, when their offense is not clicking, and how sometimes like yesterday (when the lead was up to 15 points), are rushing shots off.
One of the most important reasons the Warriors are a better, more experienced and ‘different’ in a good way is non-other than Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant last night showed the world how he can be the difference maker in this superteam. He outplayed LeBron James by guarding him most of the time on the perimeter, as he would not let him create his own shot, and would have to force some tough shots and drive the lane (which eventually got him 11 free throw attempts) for some toughly contested layups. On the offensive side though, Kevin Durant was spectacular. He scored 38 points while adding 8 rebounds and 8 assists to become the 2nd player in the history of the NBA Finals in Game 1’s after Kobe Bryant (2009) with this stat line. So, yes Kevin Durant will be the difference maker this year in these NBA Finals. Stephen Curry, was also great last night scoring 28 points, and handing out 10 assists while making everyone around him better sharing the basketball, fighting hard over picks, and knocking down some crazy three point shots. The thing that stands out however out of everything mentioned so far, was their defense. JaVale McGee, Klay Thompson and the rest of the guys were amazing, as they would not let Kyrie Irving create his own shot, would force a whole lot of turnovers by the Cavaliers, and would protect the paint spectacularly. The Cavaliers against Klay Thompson shot 1/12 from the field, which is something that shows how valuable Klay Thompson is on both sides of the court. Yesterday he could not find his stroke, his rhythm and he was held to only 6 points, which shows that the Cavaliers got outscored by 22 points, and Klay Thompson (a 21 point per game scorer, and pure shooter) was held to 6 points.
The Cavaliers in order to have a chance in this series have to lock down either Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant. If these two, in the next games, have the same games they had in Game 1, the Cavaliers will be in a whole lot of trouble. The problem is their defense. LeBron James has to step up more, has to get his guys involved, Tristan Thompson must get more than 4 rebounds a game, Kyrie Irving must be better offensively, and lastly, Kyle Korver and J.R Smith must knock out open three’s and jumpers. It will take sacrifices and spectacular performances for the Cavaliers to pull this one off and defeat the Warriors. The Warriors, were great last night, but could even be better, and that is what is the scary part. The Cavaliers have to get way better in Game 2, have to find a way to defend the Warriors’ superstars, on the perimeter and inside the paint with Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, LeBron James and the rest of the guys! Thus, the answer to the title question is that the Warriors were great last night but could be actually even better, and the Cavaliers after the 18:00-minute mark seemed like they gave up and could not keep up with the Warriors’ shooting. The Cavaliers defensively were really bad last night, so a combination of the two would be the right answer for this question.
Finally, before the series, my prediction was Warriors in 5 games, and I’m sticking to it, as I think that we have not even witnessed the Warriors at their absolute best yet, but also because I sincerely believe that the superpower of these superstar players and former MVP’s, as well as wanting to prove people, journalists, former players and the fans wrong will come on to play.
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