Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The 2015 NBA Finals was promised to be a series for the ages, and Game 1 didn’t disappoint as the Golden State Warriors claimed victory in overtime. They came in with a game plan, executed it even when they were losing, and eventually came out on top.
You must feel for the Cleveland Cavaliers however, as LeBron James‘ Finals career-high of 44 points was just not enough. The Cavs played a very good game for the most part, but after the Kyrie Irving injury in overtime, the team lost its life. The Warriors got outplayed for most of this game, and they are very fortunate to get this victory. However, a team with a game plan is very dangerous in the Finals.
Steve Kerr he knew how to compete against the best player in the world, and his team executed it to perfection. The offense was iffy for most of the night, but the defense was definitely there in Golden State. If they can win Game 1 against James having a career-high in points, the Warriors should win the championship. The only team that can beat them now is themselves.
Irving’s injury could very easily mean the end of the Cavaliers’ championship hopes. It was a big mistake not resting him for the Atlanta Hawks series. He was playing really well until overtime, and then the extra minutes just got to him. Besides LeBron, the Cavs just don’t have anyone else to feed the rock to. Ironically, James left Cleveland to play with superstars in Miami because he didn’t have any, but now he’s back in Cleveland having to carry the same load that made him frustrated in the first place.
The only question is, did he learn from his mistakes? If he does, he’ll have to somehow get sharpshooters J.R. Smith and James Jones going. He can’t do it by himself.
Samuel Martell is Oklahoma City’s beat writer at www.RantSports.com. To stay connect, ‘follow’ him on Twitter, ‘like’ him on Facebook, or ‘add’ him to your network on Google.
