Written by Benjamin Hoffman at New York Times.com
In a postseason in which they have seen little to no competition, the Golden State Warriors kept right on rolling and tied the N.B.A. record for consecutive postseason wins at 13 with a 113-91 drubbing of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the N.B.A finals.
The Warriors’ Big Four lineup only got significant offensive contributions from two of its members, but that was still far too much for LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ other stars. Looking like they had something to prove, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry put on a show in Game 1, combining for 66 points, 18 assists and 14 rebounds.
On defense the Warriors employed the strategy that worked so well in 2015, letting James operate as a one-man show. The game’s best player hardly disappointed with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists despite being guarded closely by Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala all game, but he did not get nearly enough help from any of his teammates outside of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, and did plenty of damage to his own team’s chances by committing 8 turnovers and 4 personal fouls.
What We Learned in Game 1
■ Much was made of Kevin Durant’s explosion in his return to the finals, but Stephen Curry was nearly as impressive, scoring 28 points to go with 8 assists and 6 rebounds. As he did all season, and throughout the playoffs, Curry led his team in plus/minus, with the Warriors outscoring the Cavaliers by 20 points in his 34 minutes of playing time. Durant was second on the Warriors with a plus-16 while every single member of the Cavaliers recorded a negative score in that category.
■ The Warriors gave playing time to 13 players, but only Durant and Curry scored in double figures. While Draymond Green and Klay Thompson provided plenty of value on the defensive end, the team will likely need more than their 9 and 6 points going forward. Thompson was especially bad on offense, shooting just 3 of 16 from the field and missing all five of his 3-point attempts. When Thompson is playing well, opposing defenses get spread dangerously thin, but if Cleveland decides Thompson is truly not a threat they may be able to put more pressure on Curry and Durant.
■ The Cavaliers got plenty of production from LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, but the Warriors’ stifling defense completely eliminated the rest of the Cavaliers. Chief among the missing contributors was Kyle Korver, the sharpshooter that Cleveland acquired mid-season to create floor-space. At this stage of his career Korver is on the court almost entirely for his shooting, but he was a ghost in the game, chewing up 20 minutes while taking just three shots and missing all of them. If the Cavaliers cannot find open looks for Korver they need to replace him on the court with someone who contributes more in terms of defense or playmaking.
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