Although they only lost one game, the big score was 4:1, and they won the championship, it seemed that the Warriors won easily, but Deng Fang knew that it was very difficult for the Warriors to win, and it was not as simple as outsiders thought.
This Cavaliers team is still very strong. Historically, even without Irving and Love, the big score between the two teams was 4:. It was not easy for the Warriors to win.
Historically, Love did not play a game in this series, but Irving played in the first game.
In the first game in history, the Cavaliers' starting lineup was Irving, Shumpert, James, TT and Mozgov.
The Warriors' starting lineup for the first game is Curry, Klay Thompson, Green, Barnes and Bogut.
The Warriors' starting lineup was the same as in the regular season, and Kerr didn't want to make any changes.
The Cavaliers have always played twin towers during the regular season. After Love was absent, they also used Mozkov to play center in the playoffs.
Under such circumstances, the Warriors, who have entered the finals for the first time, will certainly not dare to make temporary changes.
After all, with Green as the starting center and Barnes pushed to the 4th position, the Warriors would suffer too much in terms of height and weight in the interior.
James showed off his power in the first quarter, shooting 4 of 9 from the field and scoring 1 point in the quarter.
On the Warriors' side, the Splash Brothers performed poorly under tight defense. Curry made 7 shots and Thompson made 0. The two scored a total of 6 points.
After the first quarter, the score was 19:9, and the Warriors, playing at home, were 10 points behind.
Curry was the first to find his form in the second quarter. He made 4 of 4 shots in a single quarter, including a three-pointer, and scored 10 points and 4 assists.
Klay was in average condition, but Speights performed well on the bench and scored 6 points.
On the defensive end, the Warriors also increased their intensity, and the Cavaliers' offense was much worse than in the first quarter.
In the first quarter, the Warriors beat the Cavaliers 9-9, narrowing the point difference to three points.
James performed well in the first quarter. He made 5 of 9 shots in a single quarter and scored 1 point.
For the Warriors, Klay finally found his touch. He made 5 shots and scored 9 points in a single quarter.
In the first quarter, the Warriors beat the Cavaliers 5-0. After three quarters, the two teams were tied and returned to the same starting line.
James still performed very well in the fourth quarter. He once again made 5 of 9 shots in the single quarter, scoring 11 points and an assist.
For the Warriors, the Splash Brothers jointly contributed 11 points. Iguodala performed well on the bench. He scored 6 points in a single quarter.
With 54 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Curry hit two points and the score became 98:96, with the Warriors leading by two points.
Mozkov then fouled and hit two free throws, and the two teams tied.
With seconds left in the game, the Warriors got the ball.
Curry missed the mid-range shot and the Cavaliers gained the ball with 4 seconds left in the game.
James missed a mid-range shot in the last 4 seconds. Shumpert grabbed the offensive rebound and shot again, but still failed to score. The two teams entered overtime.
In overtime, the Cavaliers missed many shots. The Warriors' Curry took the lead with consecutive free throws, and then Barnes hit a three-pointer to widen the point difference.
The Warriors scored ten points in the entire overtime, but the Cavaliers only scored two points at the last moment thanks to James. In the end, the Warriors won Game 1 108:100.
James performed well throughout the game. He played 46 minutes and scored 44 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. However, James' efficiency was not very good. He made 18 of 8 shots in the game, 8 of 3-pointers, and free throws.
Made 6 of 10 free throws.
Irving played 44 minutes and made 10 three-pointers, including 8. He scored points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Cavaliers' first double-digit scorer was Mozgov, who scored 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
The Cavaliers focus on the inside, and they have achieved this.
Five players from the Warriors scored in double figures. Curry scored 6 points on 0-for-10 shooting, and had 4 rebounds and 8 assists.
Clay scored 1 point, Draymond Green had 1 point, Barnes had 11 points, and Iguodala on the bench had 15 points.
Although there are not as many points as James, the Warriors have more scoring points and are more scattered, making it more difficult for the Cavaliers to defend.
The Warriors' victory was mainly due to their better shooting ability than the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers made 1 of 9 three-pointers in the game and the shooting percentage was only 9%. The Warriors made 10 of 7 three-pointers and the three-point shooting percentage was 7%.
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On free throws, the Cavaliers made 1 of 19 free throws, while the Warriors made 0 of 19 free throws. This alone scored 7 points more than the Cavaliers.
The number of free throws is almost the same, but the number of field goals is quite different. I can't blame others.
It is obvious that the Cavaliers are playing stars, and the main scoring is concentrated on James and Irving.
The Warriors are all soldiers. Although the Splash Brothers are an important scoring point, under their control, the rest of the Warriors also have many scoring opportunities.
To put it bluntly, the Warriors play more reasonably and have better shooting ability.
The advantage of the Cavaliers' lineup is in the interior. Once they are unable to exert their advantage in the interior, there is a high probability that they will lose.
For the Cavaliers, what hurts them more than losing is Irving's injury.
With one minute and one second left in overtime, the Cavaliers were trailing by 4 points. Irving broke through with the ball and had a physical confrontation with Clay and fell to the ground. He had to pass the ball to Jr. Smith. Smith missed a three-pointer and the Warriors got the ball.
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During the Warriors' fast break, Clay ran to the frontcourt, but when he saw Irving limping back, he waved his hand not to pass the ball to him, and then slowly walked toward the midline.
Then Curry passed the ball to Iguodala, and Iguodala passed the ball to Barnes who was open in the corner. Barnes steadily hit a three-pointer, and the game basically lost its suspense.
For the Cavaliers, losing an away game is not particularly uncomfortable. What is uncomfortable is that they are missing another general.
Because of Love's injury, the Cavaliers didn't have many players to play with. Now that Irving is injured for the season, the Cavaliers have even fewer players to use.
The next day, the Cavaliers officially announced that Irving had a fractured left knee and was out for the season.
Irving was injured for the season and was replaced by Dellavedova.
Although Dellavedova is very good defensively, it is difficult to replace Irving on the offensive end, so the Cavaliers' prospects for the finals suddenly dimmed.
However, judging from the data, Irving's injury is not necessarily a bad thing.
When Irving was resting off the court, data showed that the Cavaliers' three-pointers were more accurate, with a shooting rate of 41.5%, which was much higher than the 1.8% three-point shooting rate when Irving was on the court.
This shows that when Irving is on the court, he plays more alone, and his shooting rate is not ideal.
In addition, Irving's defense has always been a weakness. When Irving is off the court, the Cavaliers only concede 95.1 points per 100 possessions, but when Irving is on the court, the Cavaliers concede 101.6 points per 100 possessions.
If they compete offensively with the Warriors, the Cavaliers have little chance of winning. Instead, if they focus on the defensive end, their advantage will be more obvious.
Therefore, Irving's season reimbursement is not entirely a bad thing for the Cavaliers. (To be continued)
