The officials.. and the Cavaliers are to blame for Game 1 loss

In a highly controversial Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the officiating crew were part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ downfall. That, and the major mistakes the team also made. Thankfully, the Cavs can learn from these errors, along with some good things, to win Game 2.

Heading into the 2018 NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers were considered underdogs to the Golden State Warriors. In Game 1, the Cavaliers looked like they belonged, keeping up with the Dubs throughout the game. This is pretty awesome considering how loaded the Warriors are with talent.

Yet, even with all that talent, the Warriors also had a little help. The officiating crew for Game 1, to put it mildly, was horrendous. They made plenty of egregious calls against the Cavs that would have made Joey Crawford blush. The referees made a few ticky-tack calls on George Hill. They missed a clear flagrant foul on Draymond Green when he poked LeBron James in the eyes. But, most of all, they missed a call that ultimately would decide the game:

After that, the game went into overtime where things hit the fan for the Cavs. The never-so-humble Stephen Curry, along with Klay Thompson and began to jaw with LeBron James when victory was certain. Then, to rub salt even further in the wound, former Cavalier Shaun Livingston attempted a shot in the closing moments of the game. Tristan Thompson, who was playing for pride, contested the shot and was promptly ejected by the officials.

Wait, what?

No, that was not a typo. And the Warriors continued to show their humility and it resulted in a minor dustup:

The horrendous officiating at the Cavs’ expense was a domino effect for the team. Now they sit in a highly controversial 1-0 hole.

After the game, NBA Twitter was ablaze complaining about the officiating. The team also shared the same sentiments, as head coach Tyronn Lue shared his thoughts in every way possible without directly saying the game was rigged:

"“So it doesn’t make sense to go review something if — the review is if he’s on the line or if he’s close to the charge circle, that’s the review,” Lue said. “He wasn’t close. So what are we reviewing? Either call a blocking foul or call an offensive foul.“For our team to come out and play their hearts out and compete the way we did, man, I mean, it’s bad. It’s never been done before where you know he’s outside the restricted, and then you go there and overturn the call and say it’s a block. It’s never been done, ever, in the history of the game.”"

Nonetheless, despite the bad officiating, the Cavs do have to shoulder some of the blame for losing Game 1. Unless you live under a rock, the most obvious gaffe of Game 1 came from Cavs guard JR Smith. In the closing moments of the game, Smith rebounded a missed George Hill free throw, and this happened:

According to Lue, Smith was sure that the Cavs had the lead and was looking to dribble out the clock and Smith disagrees. Either way, this will go down as one of the most boneheaded plays in NBA history, and now Smith is the hottest meme.

That whiff by Smith obviously was the biggest miscue by the Cavaliers in Game 1 but there were still a few others, as well. As mentioned before, the officiating crew slammed George Hill with a few ticky-tack foul calls and thus Lue turned to the bench. Jordan Clarkson came in to relieve Hill and promptly showcased his skillset.

By that, Clarkson chucked up plenty of bad shots with reckless abandon and showcased his tunnel vision for the world to see. He ended up connecting on two of his nine attempts to finish with 4 points,  3 rebounds, 0 assists, and plenty of frustration.

If you were to check Twitter at halftime, Clarkson was the talk of the app for all the wrong reasons. This may have been everyone’s first time seeing him in action and the criticism was completely fair. While Smith started the fire to roast the Cavs, Clarkson helped pour on tons of gasoline.

The Clarkson problem falls squarely on Lue.

The Cavs need a steady option at point guard, not Diet Jamal Crawford.

Clarkson should have already had a pretty short leash based on his overall playoff performance, but him getting so much time is baffling. It would make a ton more sense to go with Jose Calderon, a natural point guard who actually helps the team win, or Cedi Osman, a defensive-minded rookie who does not chuck the ball as soon as he touches it. Both players may want to be ready in the event Clarkson has another meltdown in Game 2.

Besides Smith’s debacle and Clarkson’s play, there were plenty of silver linings to Game 1 for the Cavs. Kevin Love was a steady option, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds. The Cavs need other players to step up besides King James, and Love will be an X-Factor as long as the Warriors roll out slow-footed big men.

Besides Love, Larry Nance Jr. was also a pleasant surprise off the bench. Nance was a bit of a catalyst when the team was stagnant at times, by providing offensive rebounding and momentum-shifting dunks. This year is Nance’s first time in the NBA Playoffs, and on the biggest stage, he looked his most comfortable. If he can continue to spark the bench unit, they can hang when James rests.

Finally, the Cavaliers were also able to survive their third-quarter woes. This is especially important as the Warriors are the best third quarter team in the NBA Playoffs. LeBron James also made some of his biggest shots during the third as well, which rattled the Warrior’s cage:

The Cavs were able to keep pace with the Dubs and that kept them in the game until the end.

So in the end, there was plenty of bad but a little good for the Cavaliers in Game 1. There is nothing the team can do about bad officiating but the team mistakes the Cavs can learn from. If the Cavs take their mistakes, along with the things that have worked, they have a pretty good shot to come home with the series tied up 1-1.

Related Story: What we learned from Game 1 of the NBA Finals

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