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| Ezra Shaw/Getty Images The perfect photo from the perfect game of the perfect NBA Finals. |
This game was a sign of bizarre, once-in-a-lifetime things to come. Not a single Warriors starter showed up offensively as Steve Kerr relied heavily on his bench (more specifically Shaun Livingston's mid-range jumper) for 45 points in comparison to Cleveland's 10 bench points and despite good showings from each of Cleveland's big three, all hope was lost late in the fourth when Steph Curry and Klay Thompon hit back-to-back threes, sticking a dagger in game 1.
Game 2: Warriors win 110-77.
"Uh oh" everyone thought as the Warriors got up big early and played a nearly flawless game (Klay and Steph still only combined for 35), presumably setting the tone for a boring Finals with a high probability of the Cavaliers getting swept. Draymond Green was awesome in this one with 28 points and was licking his chops as the MVP trophy was within his view. Kevin Love was concussed early in the third quarter (or at least, he did not show any symptoms until then) and his status was in question for game 3. Times were dark and the series would head back to Cleveland.
Game 3: Cavaliers win 120-90.
Usually, the absence of one's starting power forward would result in a weaker showing but, losing Kevin Love for game three to a concussion resulted in a 63-point swing that somehow did not involve the Cavs losing by 93 points. With Richard Jefferson (a man who had not started in an NBA finals since 2003) now inserted into the Cleveland lineup, Kyrie and Lebron were allowed to be more aggressive offensively and AGGRO-BRON was awoken. King James went off for 32 points and Kyrie backed him up with his finest postseason performance yet of 30 points with a Steph Curry-like hot hand from pretty much any angle or distance on the court. Speaking of unanimous regular season MVP Steph Curry, he again failed to reach 20 points with just 19 and sat out most of the fourth quarter due to the one-sided blowout.
Game 4: Warriors win 108-97.
A phrase that I had never heard uttered as often as it was this postseason by professional analysts was that "the series is not over until a home team loses". The funny thing about professional analysts is that sometimes they just lie for no good reason. Love had returned and along with his presence came another loss. He was 0-3 in the series and the outlook was again bleak as game five would take place at Oracle Arena and Golden State thrives at home (39-2 there during the regular season). It only took three and a half games for the MVP to show up as Curry scored 38 in a victorious effort. Thankfully, the score was close for once but also Golden State's lead was just big enough to keep tensions high between Draymond Green and Lebron James. James got so upset at one point that he stepped over Green while Draymond momentarily laid out on the floor, thus sparking Green's intense mental need to make contact with an opponents' genitals again. Upon further review, the league decided to give him the technical foul and Green was suspended for game 5.
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| Surely, this would have no impact on the impending Cleveland disappointment, riiiiight? |
Game 5: Cavaliers win 112-97.
In a game where Lebron and Kyrie did not look like they could miss any shots they took, it's truly amazing that the Warriors only lost by 15. In one of the all-time greatest if's in NBA lore, what if Draymond Green didn't have an uncontrollable desire for grabbing, kicking or just being in the general vicinity of another man's twig and berries? The Golden State Warriors would have won this game, eliminated the Cavs in five and won a second consecutive NBA Championship. Instead, Klay Thompson was the only player with a great offensive game for them and Lebron and Kyrie both went off for 41 points. The series was now Golden State, still in the lead, three games to two.
Game 6: Cavaliers win 115-101.
WE HAVE OURSELVES A SERIES! Cleveland took care of business at home with another 41-point game out of Lebron James (at this point, he looked like the MVP no matter which team won). After a 31-11 first quarter advantage, Cleveland would not let Golden State go on one of their famous epic comebacks and only gave them a +/- of +6 over the final three quarters. The inability to make a comeback and the foul trouble that got Curry to foul out on a controversial call all built up into a moment of pure fury shown by the unanimous MVP in which he tossed his mouth guard at a fan. In the moment, I thought "OH MY HIO! What are the consequences of this? Could he be suspended?". Obviously, the NBA was not going to suspend the first ever unanimous MVP for quite possibly the biggest game in NBA history. A $25,000 fine followed for both Curry and Steve Kerr's comments that were critical of officials. The series was tied and the hype was at an all-time high for a game 7 at Oracle Arena.
Game 7: Cavaliers win 93-89.
The teams were both half nervous/half ready to play the best basketball of their lives for what was the greatest Twitter sports event quite possibly ever. Ultimately, the phonies (Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli) got exposed early and the Cavaliers stuck to the same rotation of eight that they had used for much of the finals (Lebron, Love, Kyrie, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Jefferson and Iman Shumpert) and despite a lack of rest, the clutch rebounding of Love, the surprisingly clutch shooting of Tristan Thompson, the supremely clutch three by Kyrie Irving and the most-wanted ring ever by Lebron led to a last-minute Cavaliers victory. I might have guessed "Warriors in 6" but, I'm glad that didn't happen. I'm glad this is over now because Lebron James just clinched the title of "Greatest NBA Player Ever" for me and he should be at least #1B in everybody's book. He got one for Cleveland, which means he can now ditch Cleveland without the avalanche of criticism he got last time. The Warriors will be back because Draymond Green is an awesome basketball player and Cleveland will have to deal with a bunch of role guys leaving for greener pastures (and by green... I mean money). Nothing really matters today or for a while because Cleveland finally got theirs. I guess all of that reverse-jinxing worked (MY PICKS WERE A RUSE THIS WHOLE TIME #BELIEVELAND).
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| Sportsmanship: It's that thing you do when you're not hitting a man in the gonads. |
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