It wasn’t pretty, but LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers might have found a blue print to win their first NBA Championship
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Advanced statistics be damned, the Cleveland Cavaliers have found the perfect way to beat the Golden State Warriors, their fancy offense and top-notch defense: make the game as ugly as possible.
That, along with a few minor facets such as physical off-ball defense and more attacking offense from players not named LeBron James, is the real reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers emerged victorious in Game 2, tying the NBA Finals at one game apiece as the series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3.
The Cavs shot 32.6% and won. During regular season, teams that made fewer than a third of their field goal attempts won a total of 4 games.
— bill (@BTH_Bill) June 8, 2015
What LeBron James, his 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in 50 minutes, and the Cleveland Cavaliers accomplished in Game 2 was unprecedented. Not to mention that they did it in the NBA Finals against an 80-win team. Insane.
Don’t mind his 31 percent shooting in Game 2, either. LeBron and the Cavaliers have tied the NBA Finals at one game apiece — and that’s all that matters right now. So when LeBron said that this is the best version of himself that we’ve seen before the series started — maybe we should’ve just believed him.
Regardless of what the efficiency statistics indicated.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, are a few minutes away from being up 2-0 in this series. And even though the Warriors could probably say the same exact thing after Game 2, the fact that LeBron James is doing it with a patch work version of his once excellent team is quite amazing.
Unlike their game.
When the Cavs are playing their best, it’s often not pretty to watch. Almost the exact opposite of what we grew into while watching the Golden State Warriors playing offensive basketball this season. Cleveland has found its most success in this series when the Warriors are rushing and taking low percentage shots.
On the flipside, the Cavs have often feasted on offensive rebounds and second chance possessions. They’ve found a knack for beating the Warriors up in the paint and hitting the open 3 when presented. The Cavs played a slow, methodical Game 2 and the Warriors followed suit.
The perfect example of just this was the third quarter summary: Cavaliers 15, Warriors 14.
In Game 2, the Cavaliers outlasted the Warriors in an ugly affair. Yet, I still don’t know what that means for the remainder of this series.
After all, the Warriors did need a couple games to figure out the Memphis Grizzlies. And maybe that same thought process applies here, but we just can’t tell at the moment.
Or maybe perhaps this win for the Cavs is a parallel to the Miami Heat winning Game 2 in last year’s NBA Finals, before losing the next three games.
Who knows?
Though, for at least one night at Oracle Arena, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors. Without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. LeBron James, his will and the remaining Cavs that haven’t had to undergo the knife bested the 80-win prohibited NBA title favorites.
In Game 2, the Cleveland Cavaliers stole homecourt advantage away from the Golden State Warriors. They also came across a blue print.
Which could lead them to the city’s first NBA Championship.