The Warriors completed a wall to wall victory over the Cavs 132-98. This was a classic blowout, the Warriors had a 13 point lead after one quarter and the Cavs seemed to drift further and further away as the game went on. LeBron James certainly was frustrated as this went on, even picking up a technical foul at one point. Stephen Curry and the Warriors small lineup looked impenetrable. The Warriors continually played at their pace, hit an array of shots and the Cavs had no answer.
Pace is huge in basketball. The Warriors want to get out, push the ball and even run off of opponents made baskets. Throughout this game, the Warriors got shots up quickly and often, forcing the Cavs to try and adapt to how the Warriors played. The Cavs want a more methodical pace, their offense last night was tough to watch.
J.R. Smith seemed to be the only ray of light in the Cavs early offense. As the game went on and it become obvious that the Warriors would be victorious, the Cavs offense might as well have dribbled the ball until the shot clock hit zero. It was that bad.
The Warriors weren’t just hitting three’s last night. The Warriors were getting dunks off of penetration and fast breaks, occasionally hitting mid-range J’s (Shaun Livingston is amazing at them) and kept the offense varied in the 34 point blowout.
The Cavs defense was as pitiful as their offense. Letting that Warriors shot about 54% from the field must have had David Blatt wanting to rip his hair out. No resistance was the formula last night, the rotations weren’t crisp at all and the Cavs gave the Warriors anything they wanted.
Time for the Cavs to watch this film and get to work. A more fluid offense, actual defensive intensity and shot making are necessary. If you’re the Warriors, you watch film and say why didn’t we win by 45? How can we further shut down J.R. Smith? LeBron was pissed off, let’s continue to make that happen.
Overall this game was so boring, it was a straight route from the Warriors. Hopefully the Cavs learn from this blowout. The Warriors need only to be ever more perfect.