King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers: What we learned vs. Golden State Warriors Game 1

By Jackson Flickinger

OAKLAND, CA - MAY 31: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 31, 2018 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - MAY 31: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 31, 2018 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 31: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors in Game One of the 2018 NBA Finals on May 31, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jack Arent/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 31: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors in Game One of the 2018 NBA Finals on May 31, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jack Arent/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Cavs made the Warriors play their game.

Unlike last year in the Finals, the Cavs did an excellent job of dictating the style of play. This was a physical, grind it out game which isn’t exactly how Golden State wants to play.

The Cavs finished Game 1 with a 92.9 pace which is less than average and slower than the Warriors average of 101.85. Limiting the Warriors by nearly 10 possessions per game limits their transition opportunity and their ability to get into their free-flowing offense.

Besides limiting the pace of play, the Cavs did a great job of attacking the offensive glass. They finished with 19 offensive rebounds which turned into 21 second chance points.

While the Cavs did a lot of the little things right, there’s still a ton of improvement that can be made. Cleveland turned the ball over 12 times leading to 14 points for the Warriors. They also shot a dismal 10 of 37 (27.0%) from three. Cleaning up these areas can make the difference in a win or loss.

The Cavs have the blueprint to win, they just need to execute a little better than they did in Game 1.

The Warriors have no answer for LeBron.

James was unworldly in Game 1 finishing with a Finals career high 51 points on 19 of 32 (59.4%) shooting.

The Warriors missed Andre Iguodala considerably and their lack of wing depth really showed in this one. Golden State simply didn’t have a way of stopping James.

You can’t count on LeBron putting up 51 points every night, but the Warriors could be in trouble if Iguodala is going to miss most of this series. They simply didn’t have an answer for James in Game 1. We’ll see if that changes throughout the series.