Cox on Warriors Cavs’ challenge Stories,
James and Irving’s star power hasn’t meant a thing against Golden State with Durant
CLEVELAND— At no point in the first two games of the NBA final were the Cleveland Cavaliers able to slow down the Golden State Warriors.
Yes, they were able to play with them for stretches and when Golden State kicked the ball all over Oracle Arena in the first half of Game 2, the Cavaliers were able to stay close and harbour hopes of an upset win.
But never did it seem like the Cavs could sustain what the Warriors dictated, and unless there’s some stark turnaround once the series arrives here for two games it’s hard to imagine anyone having to trek back to California for a Game 5.
“We understand how dangerous they are,” Kyrie Irving said after Golden State slaughtered the Cavs 132-113 in Sunday’s Game 2. “When you’re down by three, it can turn into an 8-0 run in a matter of seconds. We have to be conscious of that and slow down their fast break more.”
Easier — far, far, far easier — said than done.
The Warriors were lethal in the first two games and handled the Cavs with relative ease. The scary thing, if the rooting tendencies lie with Cleveland, is that the key players for the losers actually performed quite admirably and it meant nothing.
LeBron James was outstanding in Game 2, attacking the rim whenever he wanted, piling up another triple double. Kevin Love was no slouch, piling up a 27-point game after he had a 21-rebound showing in Game 1. The Cavs weren’t great in Game 2 but they were probably good enough to beat any of the other 28 teams in the league, just not the Warriors.
“We cut it to four at one point and then they went on a quick 9-0 run or 12-0 run,” James said. “That’s what they do, that’s what Golden State does.
“If you make a mistake . . . Like I said, we had a turnover, it came from me, and then we had a miscue and the floods opened again.”
The Cavaliers, who have gotten nothing from the quintet of J.R. Smith, Brampton native Tristan Thompson, Kyle Korver, Deron Williams and Iman Shumpert, can perhaps take solace in being home for games on Wednesday and Friday night.
They were in exactly the same position a year, got a split of two games at home before their improbable comeback from a 3-1 deficit. But that Golden State team didn’t have Kevin Durant so there may be not much the Cavaliers can do.
“It’s easy to say we can look at the film and make adjustments, but overall we just — as an entire unit — we need to play better,” said Love. “And I think we are capable of doing that. And if going home to Cleveland and playing in front of our crowd isn’t enough for you, then you might as well go home.”