Cavs vs Warriors Rematch Shows New, Old Things

Cavaliers vs. Warriors – was it a NBA Finals rematch?

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors took the floor in prime-time on Christmas Day to play the first game these two teams have played against one another since the Warriors beat Cleveland the NBA Finals.

There was a playoff atmosphere to this game even though its only a little more than one-third of the way through the season.

Both teams wanted to make a statement.

However, there were some changes from what we saw in the NBA Finals last June and what we saw on Christmas Day. Both teams had different line-ups, with the Cavaliers being fully healthy although not quite up to speed with their new line-up.

What was new, old from in the NBA Finals rematch of Cavs Vs Warriors?

What was the same:

This game had the feeling of a NBA playoff game with stingy defense being played throughout the 48 minutes by both teams
Both teams were able to play small for good portions of the game
Cavaliers played isolation-heavy basketball
Warriors team basketball and depth
Cavaliers were unable to get their shots to fall

What was different:

The Cavaliers had a newly healthy team
The Cavaliers came into the game with a deep bench
The Warriors were without starting small forward Harrison Barnes
Both teams chased the other off the 3-point line
Luke Walton was the interim head coach of the Warriors
What kept the Cavaliers in the game was the +5 on turnovers and good defense

This was a low-scoring, defensive battle from the onset – the type of game that many felt favored the Cavaliers and their style and pace. It resembled the Finals in that the playoff intensity was there.

The Warriors were without their starting forward Harrison Barnes, so they started a player that was not seen in the NBA Finals last year in Brandon Rush. He played 18 minutes and shot 0/5.

The Warriors were the better team, with their defense making the Cavaliers play in many one-on-one situations and forcing them to shoot difficult shots.

The Cavaliers shot 31% for the game and Cleveland’s “Big 3” were held to 19/51 or 37% shooting.

It was truly evident that Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving in his third game of the season is still not up to speed in his recovering from his broken knee-cap that occurred in Game 1 of the NBA Finals last June against these same Warriors. He still seems tentative when driving into the paint and has yet to regain his shooting stroke from last season.

Kevin Love played well even though his shots weren’t falling shooting 5/16 (31%), having a game high 18 rebounds in his first game against the Warriors since last February 26, when the Cavaliers hosted the Warriors and won by 11 points. In that game the Cavaliers shot 52% as a team and Love shot 5/10 (50%).

The surprise of the night was the play of Draymond Green, as he outplayed both Stephen Curry AND Klay Thompson scoring 22 point (Warriors high), 15 rebounds (Warriors high) and 7 assists (tied Curry for game high). Green has been having a career year, already posting four triple-doubles this season.

Unlike the NBA Finals where the final scores were around 100 points, at 89-83 this game was an even more defensively fought game with the Cavaliers holding the Warriors to their season low in points at 89.

Although the Cavaliers upgraded their bench they did not get much from their depth – a surprise since for the most part the bench has been playing well, outscoring the bench of their opponents. This was not the case in last nights game as the Warriors bench – led by Shaun Livingston (8/9, 16 points in 22 minutes) – outplayed the Cavaliers bench.

Another surprising factor in this game was the lack of three-point shooting success. The Cavaliers shot an abysmal 5/30 from 3 (16.7%), while the Warriors shot 5/18 from 3 (27.8%).

The question remains: Can the Cavaliers rebound from this loss and beat the Warriors once they fully recover from injuries suffered and gel as a squad?