Ready for next test
Cavs trail 1-0 in series, but used to pressure, ‘adversity’
OAKLAND, Calif. — LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers know what’s being whispered — and sometimes shouted — at the NBA Finals.
The Cavs play in the Eastern Conference. They haven’t been tested. What happens when the adversity finally hits?
It came in Game 1, with the Golden State Warriors not even needing their two biggest stars to flatten the Cavs in the din of Oracle Arena.
Now everyone wants to know how the Cavs will react after a body blow in Round 1 gave no indication that a fully health Cavs team was any more capable of defeating the mighty Warriors than the depleted unit James dragged along with him for six games last year.
The Cavs cruised through the inferior Eastern Conference all season, the narrative goes, and now their reckoning is upon them.
Game 2 is tonight in Oakland, and Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will be frothing at the mouth after a tepid Game 1. It’s up to the Cavs to show they belong on the same court with the defending champions.
“We’re not a team that loses our composure over anything,” James said.
In reality, the Cavs have been tested like few others. Such is life on Planet LeBron, the most scrutinized athlete in America. His gravitational pull draws in fans, teammates and anybody with a notebook, microphone or blog, for better and worse.
These Cavs have lived in a pressure cooker ever since James decided to return to Cleveland two summers ago. They know that the city’s tortured fan base pins its hopes on them to end a 52-year championship drought. They have been pushed and prodded and poked at all season long.
“There’s good things that can come from feeling like your back is up against the wall,” forward Kevin Love said. “Then you have to push back and fight. I think we’ve been a team that has kind of thrived in adversity.”