Even with James at best, chances bleak
Somehow, LeBron James is going to need to do more, if that is even humanly possible, to beat the Golden State Warriors this time around. As great as James was last year in the NBA Finals, he’ll need to elevate his game to another level for Cleveland to win four of the next five games and raise the Larry O’Brien trophy. Good luck with that.
Sure, James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were in this same predicament last season: lose the first two games in Oakland before staging the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. But that is not a recommended formula for success every year, especially since this Golden State Warriors team is different. And better.
“They’re a different team,” James said following Golden State’s 132-113 victory on Sunday. “They’re a different team.”
The difference, of course, is Kevin Durant, who after two games is the clubhouse leader for Most Valuable Player in the series. Durant scored 33 on Sunday and has now scored 71 points in two games. The player he replaced, Harrison Barnes, scored 65 points in seven games against the Cavs last June.
“The talent on the floor in this series is unbelievable,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who returned to the bench for the first time since Game 2 of the first round.
The Warriors are 14-0 in the playoffs and have won 29 of their last 30 games overall. It is a remarkable run for a team that has Durant in great form and a pretty accomplished sidekick in Stephen Curry, who recorded his first career playoff triple-double to offset James’ record-tying eighth NBA Finals triple-double.
Curry also produced a highlight where he made James look silly, the same way James made Curry look foolish in Game 6 last year when he blocked Curry’s shot and shouted a few choice words at the reigning two-time MVP. On Sunday, Curry had James on the perimeter and with a series of dribbles and spin moves the Warriors point guard had LeBron dancing in circles before Curry converted a layup.
“He’s a great defender,” Curry said. “If you have an opportunity, you know you have to do something pretty special to score.
“I was rushing to begin with. I thought there was angle here and angle there but there wasn’t. You make him think you’re going to shoot. But I was a little more composed.”
It was a victory for the little guy against the best player in the world, who after dominating in the first half didn’t do enough in the third and fourth quarters to carry the Cavs to the finish line. James had the Warriors on their heels in the first half by taking the game right to them. All of his baskets were on drives in the paint as he scored 18 points and didn’t attempt a 3-pointer. But in the second half, James scored only 11 of his 29 points and took just six shots.
It was a perplexing stat line. Obviously, his teammates have to provide some support. Kyrie Irving made just 8 of 23 shots and J.R. Smith has had a nightmarish two games. But James, who was well on his way to an epic performance, should have taken matters into his own hands. Once he stopped attacking, the Cavs had no chance.
“I don’t want to get into what we need to do better right now,” James said afterward. “The game is still fresh. We need to be a lot better offensively and defensively.”
James addressed the media from the visiting locker room at Oracle Arena instead of going to the podium, as is customary for the top players. He also declined to take the podium on Saturday and there are reports that he’s upset that he’s had to wait to speak. James has been very accommodating with the media over the years, but as his power within the league has grown he’s had a tendency to throw his considerable weight around. He did it during the regular season with a nasty rebuttal to Charles Barkley, who had criticized him for calling out the Cavs’ front office. And now he’s ignoring the league’s request to speak at the podium. n the grand scheme of things, none of this matters, especially if James repeats what he did last year. That would make one heck of a story. But as for now, the story is that Durant, Curry and the rest of the Warriors are unbeatable.
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