Stephen Curry had 18 points and Klay Thompson 17, shooting 13-for-24 between them. “He was taken to the locker room for further examination”. And over two games, that’s exactly what we’ve had. “When we’re at the gym, it’s, ‘Come on, let’s go get some shots, ‘ or hanging out on the road we sit down and talk about it, ‘We need each and every one of these players on this team to win another championship.’ Lunch, dinner, brunch, all that, we talk”. They have turned the ball over 30 times in the two games and Curry is averaging just 14.5 points per game.
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“Last year coming into the Finals, everybody was nervous and didn’t know what to expect, and it took us a few games to get settled in; and we said we need to come out and get going immediately to start this Finals off and kind of try to set a tone”, said Warriors forward Draymond Green when addressing the media. Green is blocking shots at the rim, snagging loose balls with quick hands, throwing outlet passes, and then finishing.
“Stop it”, Green said with a chuckle.
With the Cleveland Cavaliers desperate to avoid heading home in a 2-zip hole in the NBA Finals, their resident superstar figured it was a good time to get creative.
Golden State has now won seven consecutive games against LeBron James’ squad – his longest career losing streak to any opponent – including the last three games of the 2015 NBA Finals, and has barely been tested this time around.
“They’re allowed a lot of physicality, and we’ve got to be physical”, Lue said before the game.
If Game 1 was a bad loss for the Cavs, Game 2 was worse. “Because usually when you don’t, it turns into a disaster”. Green showcased his versatility and played his role on the Warriors’ defense, which, with its ability to switch so effectively, has reduced the Cavaliers’ offense to its most basic form. It was then that they unleashed a small-ball lineup that ran the Cavaliers off the court and terrorized the rest of the National Basketball Association this year.
Stephen Curry has completed his pregame warmup routine before Sunday night’s Game 2 of the NBA Finals, and it ended without sinking one of his heaves from the tunnel area.
As two-thirds of Cleveland’s Big Three, Irving and Love are expected to help LeBron James shoulder the load for the Cavaliers. “Obviously, not much is working”.
It’s not a matter of effort.
One thing Green isn’t known for, though, is scoring.
According to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, the Warriors are expected to gross almost $96 million in NBA Playoff tickets should the team only host one more outing (Game 2 on Sunday), which would mean a sweep of the Cavaliers. Kevin Love, another member of the Big Three, managed just five points in 20:46 before exiting in the third quarter with a concussion. Love has been placed in concussion protocol, the Cavs said.
Game 2 of the NBA Finals was the Draymond Green show. Now, with a healthy Love and Irving, James has much more help than he did previous year. LeBron couldn’t single-handedly keep the Cavaliers in the game the way he often did a year ago. Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is dealing with a head injury.
James had a plan, even when dinner with teammates might have been the more enjoyable option.
No doubt, the Cavs needed to change the tune of the series with a gold-plated performance.
The one thing they keep saying and keep proving is that they apply lessons from their experiences.
For all the Cavaliers’ problems as they dropped to 0-2 in the series going into Game 3 Wednesday night in Quicken Loans Arena, the turnovers may be the most fixable.
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Lately, it’s not a matter of what for the Warriors. As James tried to muscle his way to the hoop, his elbow connected right on the money and Iguodala immediately felt the pain of taking one to the groin again. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers couldn’t get anything going against Golden State’s defense, shooting 35.4 per cent overall and 21.7 per cent from three-point range and getting next to no production from anyone besides James.
