King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers: Game 5 Finals loss can be blamed on the bench

By Nathan Beighle

Jun 12, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) battles for the ball between Cleveland Cavaliers guard Deron Williams (31) and guard Iman Shumpert (4) during the first quarter in game five of the 2017 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 12, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) battles for the ball between Cleveland Cavaliers guard Deron Williams (31) and guard Iman Shumpert (4) during the first quarter in game five of the 2017 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost the NBA Finals 4-1 and their Game 5 loss can almost solely be blamed on their lackluster bench play.

Following the Golden State Warriors’ 129-120 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals that clinched their second title in three years, the headlines were all centered on Kevin Durant and how he claimed the Finals MVP.

For the next several months, Dub Nation will only grow stronger while the attacks on LeBron James‘ legacy only grow louder. But in Game 5, it wasn’t LeBron that let the Cleveland Cavaliers down: it was the bench.

It was obvious coming into the game that the Cavaliers needed to play their best game of the season in order to win. While they did blast the Warriors with an impressive 120 points, there was no way their team could win with less than 10 bench points.

Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert, Deron Williams and Kyle Korver were the only bench players to see action for the Cavaliers and they combined for 51 minutes and only seven points. The seven points are less appalling than the reserves’ combined 2-for-9 shooting.

The bench shot 22 percent while the starting unit shot 57 percent.  In the only Cavalier win, their bench combined for 23 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field.

The bench for Cleveland has been sub-par all season. Even after their late-season additions of Korver and Deron Williams, it seemed like nothing had changed in their production.

It’s hard to imagine the Cavaliers going out and attracting a big-name free agent for cheap, so they might be forced to trade for one. If they do, it should almost be a given that any bench player is replaceable, especially after these Finals.

Must Read: Could Mario come to the Land?

LeBron James’ legacy will get more backlash for this Finals loss, but in the end it wasn’t his fault that his subs couldn’t deliver when he needed them most.