The Golden State Warriors are prohibitive favorites to dispatch the Cleveland Cavaliers and win their third NBA championship in four years.
But LeBron James insists on having a say on that. But for a questionable last-minute foul call reversal, George Hill’s missed free throw and JR Smith’s last-second mental lapse, James would have led the Cavaliers to victory in Game 1.
James scored 51 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished eight assists. That was one the greatest individual NBA playoff performances of all time.
Even by LeBron’s lofty standards, it was a remarkable effort.
“They have a guy who is playing basketball at a level that I’m not sure anybody’s ever seen before, when you consider everything he’s doing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said during his postgame address.
“I’ve never seen a level like this before,” Cavaliers forward Kevin Love told reporters. “He was incredible. And he’s been that way throughout the playoffs. He said he’s felt the best he’s ever felt.”
Alas, the Cavaliers missed their chance to win the game in regulation and Warriors dominated overtime to win. Afterward, the Cavaliers were still steaming about the foul call reversal — a Kevin Durant charge that became a James blocking foul and two Durant free throws.
Hill could have decided the game at the free throw line in the closing seconds, but he missed the second of two shots. Smith got the rebound, but dribbled out with it rather than trying to score the game-winning shot.
“We played as well as we have all postseason,” James told reporters. “We gave ourselves a chance possession after possession after possession. There were just some plays that were kind of taken away from us, simple as that.”
GOOD LUCK DEFENDING LEBRON
Andre Iguodala is Golden State’s best defensive answer for James, but he has been sidelined by a leg injury. Many other Warriors have tried to contain James, to no avail.
Stephen Curry is quick, but James can bulldoze him. Durant is big, but James can blow past him. And when LeBron is knocking down three-pointers and fadeaways, he is going to score at will.
“Bron does a good job on the screen-and-roll, kind of balancing and unbalancing the floor and in matchups and getting a lot of screens to get guys on him,” Durant told reporters after the game. “Then after that, it’s hard to stop him.”
If Iguodala can return during the series, that could help the Warriors at least slow James down. But his status remains questionable.
WARRIORS HAVE MORE TO GIVE
At times the “Splash Brothers” have looked like their usual selves, drilling deep three-pointers at a crazy rate. But when Curry, Klay Thompson and Co. go cold, Golden State’s lack of depth is exposed.
The Warriors knew they lucked into their Game 1 victory, even if they won’t all admit it for the record.
“There are no breaks at this point,” Thompson argued. “A win is a win. If we would’ve won by 30 or won in overtime or at the end of regulation, it does not matter. We have a chance to go 2-0 on Sunday. You can look at it as catching a break, but at this point in the year breaks are more than welcome.”
But they will need Curry, Durant, Thompson and Draymond Green at their best to finish the job against the James gang. The Cavaliers did a surprisingly good job of defending them until overtime, giving Love in particular lots of help.
“It wasn’t just about my matchups,” Love said. “I felt like I did a good job of contesting, and I was trying to send them into the 2-point area, and guys had to pull over and contest. So those are tough guys to guard.”
