King James Gospel
Fansided

One Game 1 minute lost the Cleveland Cavaliers the NBA Finals

By Nathan Beighle

OAKLAND, CA - MAY 31: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers rebounds the ball after a free throw 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: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers rebounds the ball after a free throw 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) /
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With a minute left in Game 1, the Cleveland Cavaliers saw a call overturned, a free throw missed, an idiotic play happen, and ultimately a series in jeopardy.

By now, the Cleveland Cavaliers are probably home and planning for the offseason after being swept by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. However, that sweep ultimately boiled down to that one final minute in Game 1.

Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost three games following Game 1, but the momentum and the disheartening feel after being so close to taking an improbably lead ended up being unrecoverable.

It wasn’t just that though. It shook the confidence of JR Smith, George Hill and the rest of the Cavaliers.

James, who received little to no help in most of the games this postseason, played the series with a serious hand contusion. James described it as playing with a broken hand. Even without public knowledge of it, fans and analysts knew that the James from Game 1 was different than the James that showed up in Games 2-4.

For starters, James shot 11 threes in the three games following Game 1 and seven in Game 1 alone. His shot was completely taken away from him, a shot that he spent countless hours on trying to perfect this offseason.

For George Hill, he went 0-for-6 in Game 3 and 1-for-7 in Game 4 after a terrific 5-for-12 start in Game 1. Obviously, Hill lost his aggression and his mindset following Game 1.

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The only player to perform well outside of Kevin Love and LeBron James was Rodney Hood.

Hood scored 15 in Game 3 and 10 in Game 4. However, without too much of an emotional investment in Game 1, Hood stepped up when other didn’t. While almost ruining his offseason value this postseason, Hood’s last few games saved him millions.

The Finals wasn’t about Hood though. It was about all the players connect to Game 1 and how they mentally handled it.

James, who probably wishes he could’ve played the last few minutes following Game 1 different, seemed to be one of several players impacted by the discouraging ending. In my opinion, this team had the life sucked out of it. Losing overtime was inevitable, but dropping both games at home was just inexcusable.

The Cavaliers that surrounded James needed to be better. 51 points and a loss caused frustration and rightly so. But, with a smashed hand and underperforming teammates, James and the Cavaliers last few minutes of Game 1 sealed their destiny.

That said, now all Cleveland can do is hope to make significant performances this offseason in order to keep James.

Next: Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 30 all-time greatest players

But, after that pitiful four-game sweep, is that even possible?

One minute killed the Cavs, and now they’ll have four months to think about it.