Three reasons why Golden State beat Cleveland in Game 1
The defending champion Golden State Warriors struck first in Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals, rolling out to an early lead and downing the Cleveland Cavaliers by a 104-89 score.
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Here are three reasons why the Warriors pulled away with ease …
Bench Alignment
Relegated to also-ran status at times during the team’s 1-3 start to the Western Conference finals, Golden State’s bench unit was limited in its matchups against the Thunder and hardly made a dent even in winning. Moving Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup in Game 7 weakened the crew’s numbers even more.
Against Cleveland in Game 1? Let’s say things opened up a bit.
Reserve guard Shaun Livingston, who managed just 27 total points in seven games against Oklahoma City, somehow led all Golden State scorers with 20 points in the win. Only one bucket was collected in garbage time, as well, as the GSW bench maintained a steady pulse throughout. It was needed, mind you, as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson opened by missing 15 of their first 20 shots, finishing a combined 8-27 from the field with just 20 points between them. The Splash Brothers’ season-low, prior to Thursday night, was a combined 29 points.
Livingston wasn’t alone: Leandro Barbosa, who managed just 13 points in total against OKC, hit for 11 points on 5-5 shooting. Iguodala once again came off the bench to lead Golden State’s offense for long stretches, adding 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal and zero turnovers in 35 minutes, alongside his customary all-out defense.
Those three helpers were aided in part by poor communication by Cleveland defensively alongside the usual wave of misdirection that comes following a Curry or Thompson feint to the three-point line, but the credit still remains.
Sticking to the Starters
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was typically coy in the days leading up to the 2016 NBA Finals in regards to his starting lineup, reminding all of his misdirection play from the 2015 Finals prior to his insertion of Andre Iguodala into the opening crew in Game 4 of that series.
With LeBron James looming, many wondered whether Kerr would go with Andre ahead of swingman Harrison Barnes, even though Iguodala started just once in 65 regular season games this season. Barnes is a free agent to-be and not as sturdy defensively as Iguodala, and Golden State played terrific basketball with Iguodala in the starting lineup to begin the second half of the team’s Game 6 win over the Thunder, and Dre started in the Game 7 triumph that followed.
Barnes got the nod, though, and was a key factor in Golden State’s early showing. With Curry and Thompson struggling, Barnes hit four of his first five shots from the field for nine points, while holding his own defensively against James: LeBron had eight points on 4-5 shooting in the opening period. Not bad, but LeBron James playing Harrison Barnes to the hilt wasn’t what Cleveland fans were hoping for.
Inconsistent play to start the second half from Barnes will lead some to wonder if Iguodala will grab his starting spot in Game 2, as Kerr went to Andre earlier than usual (just four minutes into the half), but Barnes helped redeem himself by scoring a pair of other buckets after his re-entrance into the game, finishing his night with 13 points on 6-10 shooting.
Standing Water from Cleveland
It’s true that the Cavaliers hadn’t played in nearly a week, and that the Warriors have remained a stout defensive unit for years, but Cleveland should be embarrassed by its offensive showing in Game 1.
The team’s offense devolved, both because of Warrior pressure and Cleveland’s inability to cope, into simple screen and roll sets and, worse, plenty of isolation basketball. Even some of LeBron James’ best forays to the basket were nearly set off course by slap-steals from Golden State defenders, as he routinely telegraphed his right-handed drives to the goal. The same could be said for Harrison Barnes’ righty drives, but as noted above – LeBron James can’t be pulling out his best Harrison Barnes impression on the Finals stage.
He didn’t, finishing with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists; but James needed 21 shots to get there, and LBJ turned the ball over four times. Cleveland turned the ball over 15 times in total to 17 assists, and while strict assist-to-turnover ratio is often a poor way of judging an offense, the stat is quite telling in Cleveland’s Game 1 loss.
Kevin Love remained active offensively, but he was chased off of the three-point line and needed 17 shots to get his 17 points. Tristan Thompson’s 11-shot night is a little misleading – some of those attempts were taps on the offensive glass – but it will stand out that he technically took eight more looks from the field than J.R. Smith. Smith needed until the final quarter, on a broken play, to hit his lone field goal (a three-pointer) of the evening.
It is precisely those sort of broken plays, with defenders stumbling, that Smith, reserve guard Matthew Dellavedova (1-3 from the floor), Iman Shumpert (1-1) and Channing Frye (one attempt, a miss, in seven minutes) thrive on. Instead, with Kyrie Irving dominating the ball mostly through isolation play (leading the team in scoring with a solid enough 26 points on 22 shots), the offense fell flat.
There were no surprises, and nothing to bring Golden State out of its chair. With life made easy, the champs rolled.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
