Warriors guarding against overconfidence
Cavaliers limping into Game 2 today
OAKLAND, Calif. — The NBA Finals hyped as LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry now seems like James against the Golden State Warriors.
The Cavaliers are down another important player, with Kyrie Irving having surgery Saturday in Cleveland to repair his fractured left kneecap.
And with what was an already short-handed Cavs team down 1-0 heading into Game 2 today (7 p.m., WATN Channel 24), the series has the feel of one that could end quickly.
“(I) understand that we were the underdog coming into the series and with Kyrie being out, people are writing us off,” James said. “So, I mean, that’s fine. That’s fine. I’m motivated to get our guys ready to go tomorrow and we will be ready.”
James seemed more downcast than he was a day earlier, before the Cavaliers had revealed the severity of Irving’s injury after an MRI exam. Irving had been hurt previously in the postseason and Cleveland had won without him, but this was different.
“Obviously, we’ve been in this situation, but we always knew at some point he’ll come back,” James said. “Knowing that he’s out for the rest of the Finals and out for a period of a long time, first of all, it sucks for him personally. It’s a huge blow for our team, especially at this stage.”
The Warriors were already the favorites after leading the NBA with 67 victories during the regular season. Now, with Irving joining injured Kevin
Love on the sideline, the Warriors were brushing away suggestions that they should win easily.
“No series is unlosable,” center Andrew Bogut said. “Stranger things have happened and they’re still a great team with arguably the best player in the world. Obviously they’re going to have other guys that have to step up to help him get wins, but we can’t take this team lightly.”
Curry said the mood in the Warriors’ locker room was no different.
“There is no pressure or added pressure, I don’t think, because our goal stays the same,” Curry said. “We’re not really listening to any outside noise or predictions, or who is favored to do what, because we control what we control. When we go out there and play, we’ve got to play better than we did in Game 1, and that is really our only focus.”
The Cavs came close to winning Game 1.
James and Iman Shumpert missed jumpers on the final possession of regulation. Had either gone in, the Cavs would have the 1-0 lead and would’ve avoided the overtime in which Irving was hurt.
Blatt acknowledged the difficulty of losses such as Game 1, saying “they cost you some hours of sleep.” But he said the Cavs had moved past it.
“You’d love to see us at full strength, obviously, for the Finals,” he said. “Request no quarter and no sympathy. We’ve got to come out and play, and play to win. That’s it.”