A team with LeBron James is the underdog in an NBA Finals series, how crazy is that? LeBron James is used to the underdog mentality despite being the greatest player in the world, his haters and critics create an underdog image of James, but James is no underdog. With his play in Game 1 and the unfortunate ending for the Cavaliers, LeBron received the same circumstance and pressure as he usually does. With no Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love], the pressure of the series lies almost solely on LeBron James and this will be a true test of his legacy. Before we knew it, the chit-chat and talk about how the Cleveland Cavaliers would just be a game for the Warriors now had ended because Game 2 started tonight.
Both teams started off slow and offensively, both teams struggled throughout the game, and the struggle of the Warriors started and ended with Stephen Curry. The MVP struggled in Game 2, scoring 19 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. Not a bad stat line for the MVP, but look closer. He shot 5/23 from the field and 2/15 from the 3-point line. NOT acceptable for the Warriors and Curry who needs to have the Finals mind-set every game. I feel like Kyrie struggled because Dellavedova is an annoying defender, who eventually shut down Curry late in the game (we’ll get to that). Despite all the struggles, Klay Thompson and LeBron James led their clubs to a 47-45 halftime score in favor of the Cavaliers. LeBron James scored 20 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 6 assists in the 1st half, the 1st time he’s ever done that.
In the second half, the Cavaliers extended the lead to as much as 13 with players contributing from all facets. J.R Smith had 13, Mozgov had 17 points, and Jim Jones had 8 points. Despite the Cavaliers playing an amazing game with the Warriors and without two of their main players, the Cavaliers played one of their best games of the season. Despite all this, the Warriors came back. With a team that is as lethal as the Warriors, the Cavaliers can not lose focus, and LeBron James lost focus. He missed shots, made turnovers that eventually made it a tie game with a chance for the Cavaliers to win the game with the final possession of the 4th quarter. Everyone knows the ball is going into LeBron James’ hand and we want to see him do something ‘legendary’ worthy. LeBron is yet to have a Finals moment. The streak continues, he missed a lay up and the game was sent into overtime.
In overtime, it was all Cavaliers, but the Warriors came back to make it a close game. J.R Smith made dumb fouls throughout the game which led to easy Warriors free throws that made them catch up. Draymond Green blocked LeBron with a straight up lay up, and the momentum was all the Warriors. The Warriors were up 1 point with 5 seconds left, then the Cavaliers x-factor Matthew Dellavedova came through. LeBron missed… again, but Dellavedova got the rebound which he was followed on by Klay Thompson. He sinks both free throws, and on the next possession forces Stephen Curry to take a bad shot and the Warriors lose the game. The Cavaliers tie the series with a 95-93 win in overtime.
LeBron James got his 5th ever Playoff triple double, which puts him at 2nd overall. LeBron scores 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists. Kenny Smith said it best after the game. LeBron is the best to do it with the least amount of resources. In Cleveland, he has virtually led a Love-less and Kyrie-less Cavaliers team to the NBA Finals with J.R Smith as their 2nd scoring option. Everyone said that for Cleveland to be even close, LeBron has to average a triple double or get 40 points a game, well he is listening. He may not be very clutch, but he is probably the best to do it without a lot of people. He led the Cavaliers to their first ever Finals game win. In terms of supporting Finals casts, LeBron owns 2 of the top 5 worst supporting casts ever in a Finals series. I’ll let all the LeBron haters let those stats sink in.
Game 2 on Tuesday in Cleveland.
