Cavaliers Vs Warriors: Cavs Proved They Are Still The Team To Beat
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors most recently participated in one of the greatest NBA Finals match-ups in the history of the league. For the Cavaliers and Warriors, the players, storylines and on-court circumstances provided future “30 for 30” type content that will be talked about for years to come. Today, December 25 (the NBA’s Christmas Day marquee match-up) the Warriors and the Cavaliers met for the first time since their epic in June, with the Cavaliers defeating the Warriors 109-108.
The Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, trailed the bulk of the game until their point guard, Kyrie Irving, executed a clutch shot over Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson to give the Cavaliers a permanent lead with just over three seconds left. The shot by Irving will perhaps give the Warriors and Warrior fans flashback of a similar occurrence of Irving making a game-winning shot to win Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
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But like the NBA Finals, controversy found its way onto the court for the NBA’s fiercest rivalry. Warriors small forward and recent free agent signing Kevin Durant would catch the ensuing in-bounds pass and was seeking to attempt the game-winning shot, but appeared to be tripped up before he had the chance to shoot. There was no call on the floor and that ended the game.
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Afterward, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who has been the mastermind behind the Warriors small-ball, perimeter-based offense, made note of Warriors point guard Steph Curry’s shooting slump. Kerr didn’t express concern but did state he believed his point guard could make better decisions with the basketball.
“The Golden State Warriors‘ point guard registered 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting to go with three turnovers. His first field goal didn’t come until there was 4 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first half.”
“But his head coach Steve Kerr said he wasn’t focused on Curry’s shooting woes. His issues were with his floor general’s carelessness with the ball.”
“I think he can be a little smarter, I think he can make better decisions, and that’ll help against anybody,” Kerr said after his team had blown a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead to lose 109-108. “But I’m not worried about him missing shots; I’m more worried about just decision-making and making sure that we’re where we need to be as a group.”
“As a team, the Warriors coughed the ball up 20 times, resulting in 21 points for the Cavaliers. Curry is known for risk-taking with his off-hand, one-handed passes and he will routinely pull off the behind-the-back jaw-dropping assists.”
Thompson also spoke after the game, believing the Warriors gifted the Cavaliers with a win in which he and his fellow Warriors blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Kerr also subliminally addressed Curry’s penchant for making errant passes, especially when the passes aren’t needed to be made.
“A lot of [the turnovers] early was not even due to the pressure. It was more just decision-making. Around-the-back passes in the paint, silly plays. We just have to make simple plays, and we talk about that all the time, but we’ve got to make it more of a habit.”
The Warriors and the Cavaliers both are considered the NBA’s top two teams, but it’s still the Cavaliers that’s still the team to beat. For many, what makes the Warriors defeat to the Cavaliers so intriguing is that they enlisted Durant for the sole purpose to defeat the Cavaliers and reclaim the NBA crown. But they didn’t get it done on their first try, which will probably be considered baffling to NBA fans considering the Warriors star-power. Luckily for the Warriors, rematches are a given in the NBA regular season and the Warriors will get their chance to play the Cavaliers again on January 16 in Oakland. But for now, the road to be the NBA’s best team still has a Cleveland route to get there.
[Featured Image by Jason Miller/Getty Images]
