NBA Finals Game 1 recap - Game 2 Preview

Is this series déjà vu from the OKC 2012 Finals series when LeBron won his first ring or are the Cavs facing a very steep up hill battle? I'm afraid that it will be a very tough climb for the Cavs. LeBron did what everyone expected him to do by literally carrying the team on his back, scoring a new NBA Finals career high with 44 points. He was just another step back game winning buzzer beater away from stealing Game 1 on the road and adding to his already impressive "greatness" resume.

For how confident people were in the Warriors to beat up the Cavs, the Cavs held their own the entire game including a 10 point lead after the first quarter, but we all know basketball is a tale of 2 halves and sometimes 5 extra minutes in Game 1's case. That extra 5 minutes appeared to be too much more the gassed Cavs. Not only were the Cavs already exhausted by the end of the 4th, they ended up losing their star point guard, Kyrie Irving, within 2 minutes of the overtime period. Talk about killing 2 birds with 1 stone for the Warriors. Beat the Cavs and have them lose their PG. That's bad news for Cleveland and their title hopes. Still, LeBron has brought a lesser talented roster to the Finals, circa 2007. Not saying they had any success, but with a more developed LeBron James and a starting line up that is one of the best in the NBA, there is still a chance for the Cavs to win a championship without Kyrie.

The Cavs' bench which is stripped down to nothing as is, just a got a little thinner, as Kyrie Irving left Game 1 with a knee injury that will probably alter his effectiveness and status of his play. Most likely, JR Smith will have to move into the starting line up, which is no problem, but that leaves almost no bench. The irony of the bench scoring difference of 34-9 is that the Cavs record since Jan. 15 was 34-9 which I talked about in my last post.

My take for Game 2

The Cavs fought hard all game, owning the lead for a majority of the game. The effort they put into Game 1 will show up in their lack of energy for Game 2. Unless LeBron has yet another miraculous "MJ" like performance for Game 2, Cleveland stands very little chance. I don't think Kyrie will play, which hurts them even more, and even if he did, he wouldn't be at 100% or as good as he was last night. All in all, I think the Warriors will win by 11+ and take a strong 2-0 lead into Cleveland for Tuesday's Game 3.

Optimistic thought: JR Smith goes off again like he did vs Atlanta and/or Mike Miller comes in like he did for the Heat in their 2012 NBA Finals series against OKC. #Wishfulthinking

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