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LeBron James was fantastic in Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals. James poured in 44 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Golden State Warriors proved to be too much, beating Cleveland 108 to 100 in overtime.
LeBron missed his last five shots (excluding a meaningless unguarded layup to end the game in overtime), one of which would have won the game at the end of regulation, and I would ordinarily be the first to line up and criticize LeBron’s play down the stretch. But last night wasn’t the time for that.
LeBron’s poor play was due to him simply being gassed. He carried the team as far as he could, and unfortunately for Cleveland, that was only for 46 minutes. Kyrie Irving was injured in overtime, and there is plenty of conversation about how him being able to play Game 2 is crucial for Cleveland’s chances.
While that is true to an extent, the truth is, Irving’s health for this series doesn’t really matter. Irving was very good and LeBron was outstanding, yet they still fell short. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson each performed well, but neither played outstanding. They both have the talent to elevate their games, and you can expect each to play even better. Knowing where Cleveland is with that type of max effort from LeBron, it’s simply not reasonable to expect the Cavs to win this series.
The problem for Cleveland lies in players 3-12. With Kevin Love injured, the talent level that Cleveland has after James and Irving is a far cry from what Golden State runs onto the floor after Curry and Thompson. Iman Shumpert is good, J.R. Smith has moments where he’s outstanding and Timofey Mozgov has value, as does Matthew Dellavedova. But those players aren’t nearly as talented as the likes of Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes. Andre Iguodala was a valuable commodity off the bench as was Marreese Speights. Meanwhile, Cleveland only got nine points off the bench, all coming from the hands of Smith who was only 3-for-13 from the floor.
LeBron isn’t dumb; when he first came to Cleveland he knew the roster was flawed. He knew this wasn’t going to be an instant champion. They made some moves to improve the roster for this year, but it still isn’t where it needs to be. Cleveland may have looked more championship worthy because of the weak Eastern Conference, but this roster isn’t ready to compete against the talent that resides in the West.
Obviously, if Irving can still play, this series will be more competitive. But whether or not he plays, the result will still be the same. Without him, the series probably wraps up in four or five games; with him, maybe Cleveland can get it to six. Cleveland simply isn’t ready to defeat a team with this level of talent. LeBron’s Finals record will fall 2-4. Cue the legacy talk.
