The Warriors Stick To The Plan

By: Lamar "L.A." Smith

The Cavs came in to the Bay Area to shut the house down and the Cavs did for 4 quarters. Normally 4 quarters of great basketball would reward the Cavs with a W, too bad the Cavaliers had to play an overtime period vs. the league's best team in the Golden State Warriors. The raucous crowd in "Roarcle" provided the needed boost in overtime as the Warriors held the Cavaliers scoreless in overtime. The Cavs technically did score two points in overtime but this was a garbage time bucket LeBron scored when the game was already decided. Cleveland was 1/9 from the field in OT and LeBron was shutdown by an active Golden State defense in OT. Pace and space has been the motto in the NBA over the last several years and in a game not short of highlights, pace and space won the game.

The Turning Points

• Cleveland was up by as many as 14 points in the first quarter and had control of the game early on. The bench comes in and cuts the lead down to 10 points to end the quarter after Andre Iguodala blows past LeBron when isolated on the last shot of the quarter and gets a dunk to end the quarter 29-19.
• Marreese Speights hasn't played basketball in almost a month. Speights last played on May 5th vs. the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Semifinals due to a right calf injury. He scored 6 points off the pick and roll (8 points for the game) and Speights provided a spark offensively for Golden State. He set strong screens and provided Steph the space to get hot when Golden State struggled offensively.
• Andre Iguodala steals the ball from LeBron and finishes the fast break with a step through dunk to end the 3rd quarter tied 73-73. Golden State struggled to take the lead and played from behind the whole game. Iguodala's score gave the Warriors a jolt of energy and this matriculated to the 4th quarter which gave Golden State the ability to play with the lead for a relative portion of the fourth quarter. Iguodala would even hit a 3 in the corner with his shoe off.
• During overtime, Golden State went small and pushed the tempo. The Warriors struggled at first and were able to get 4 points due to Stephen Curry's lethal jump shot helping him draw two fouls on the perimeter. Golden State proceeded to employ the team's lineup of: Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Barnes and Green. The team got out in transition and this would be the kiss good night to a team who was reeling in the extra period

The King's Court

LeBron dominated Game 1, scoring 44 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. He scored at will and was proficient in the post. He used his full array of post moves from facing up and getting to the cup to hitting turnaround jumpers. Also if you were playing "I Spy" for LeBron James jumper, you might have found his shot in Game 1. He scored probably just as much from the perimeter as he did in the paint. He hit tough contested jump shots from all areas of the floor and was single-handedly preventing Golden State from getting too much momentum until overtime. He missed the potential game-winning shot and he was a dud in OT going an inefficient 18/38 overall. On a night where LeBron was definitely wearing his crown after scoring 44 points (NBA Finals career-high) and looked nearly invincible against whoever Golden State threw at him, in the end this freight train just didn't have enough steam.

LeBron's excellence at full display in Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals.

The Difference Maker: Andre Iguodala

I was thinking about changing the heading's name to the game's MVP but, the difference maker seems to be befitting of this veteran's performance. Fifteen big buckets, a three-pointer with one shoe on and stopping LeBron from hitting the game-winner. This sounds like a pretty good performance. Well, he was better than good and the numbers don't lie. In 19 different plays where Iguodala guarded LeBron in the half court he was 2/12 from the field scoring 11 points and he did not score in overtime. He played smart in transition finding the open man and converted a few dunks on drives to the lane. Iguodala is the best athlete on the Warriors' squad by far and the team's best shot of containing LeBron. On a night where no one on his team including himself has never been to the Finals before, the 31-year old vet played as if he has seen this stage way too many times.

A closer look at Andre Iguodala's 3-pointer with one shoe on which is reminiscent of Mike Miller's (current Cleveland Cavalier) 2012 NBA Final Game 5 3-pt field-goal with one shoe on when he decided to "Let it fly!". This was just the icing on the cake to an already strong performance.

The Shot

This play is pretty similar to LeBron's game-winner he missed yesterday for the win vs. Golden State. LeBron drives left with Iguodala checking him and pulls up to shoot a tough step-back as he fades away from the basket. The same shot in the same building but, Golden State defended this totally different. In the scenario above Miami was a better 3-point shooting team therefore they were able to space the floor better so, everyone is glued to their man. Also, David Blatt makes a bad personnel decision by putting two bigs on the floor allowing all of the guys on Golden State the ability to put one foot in the paint allowing them the ability to help if James drives. This time as James drives Iguodala keeps his hands active disrupting LeBron's rhythm as he steps back to pull up for the win. Iguodala contests the shot at the last second making LeBron take an uncomfortable fadeaway instead of a routine shot. Now, Shumpert misses a chance to win it falling out of bounds on a rebound but, James look was Cleveland's best chance to escape "Roarcle" with a win.

Golden State will be itching at the chance to put Cleveland in a figure-four leglock and capture Game 2. Therefore, the Cavs have a good chance to bounce back in Game 2 since, a 2-0 hole will harm Cleveland severely. Although, Kyrie did not sound too confident about his effectiveness next game after leaving the game in OT due to an aggravated left knee injury. No Kyrie means no rings and expect Golden State to win again at home where the team is 47-3 all year. Yes, Mr. 380 has Golden State heading to Cleveland up 2-0.