NBA Finals: 3 Takeaways from the Cavs’ Game 1 Loss
By Reece Helms
2. Golden State has a deep bench, and Cleveland obviously doesn’t
Jun 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) dunks the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward James Jones (1) in game one of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ezra Shaw-Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports
One of the most glaring stats after Game 1 was the lack of production the Cleveland Cavaliers received from their bench.
Cleveland’s bench finished the game with nine points (all from J.R. Smith) while the Golden State Warriors had 34 bench points.
You cannot win in the NBA Finals if you have zero production off the bench. It’s as simple as that.
J.R. struggled, shooting 3-13 from the field (3-10 3PA) in 34 minutes of action. If Cleveland wants any chance of coming back in this series, they will need more scoring from J.R. Smith.
Matthew Dellavedova and James Jones were the only other bench players to play in Game 1. Neither of them scored, and they only took one shot combined, which was a three-pointer missed by James Jones.
For Golden State, Andre Iguodala was a crucial X-factor off the bench. He made several key defensive plays and hit two 3-pointers. One of them without a shoe on:
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