Game 1 of the NBA Finals is in the books, resulting in a 113-91 runaway victory for the Golden State Warriors over the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
There were several eye-popping stat lines from Game 1, including Cleveland’s 20 turnovers, 56 points allowed in the paint, lack of bench production, and maybe a bit too much isolation ball. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving combined for 73 of the Cavs’ 91 points on 58 shots. However, the rest of the team didn’t really show up.
Obviously, too much one-on-one can be detrimental, but the Cavs are known to be an iso-type of team. Irving and James are two of the best when it comes to penetrating and kicking the ball to open shooters on the perimeter, right? Last night was a different story, though. The Cavs recorded just 15 assists as a team.
During his post-game media availability, James, who finished with 28 points (9-of-20 from the field, 2-of-6 from downtown), 15 rebounds, and eight assists, was asked about the high number of isolation plays that he and Irving were a part of in Game 1.
Via Nathaniel Cline of cleveland.com:
“That’s part of our game,” James said. “That’s part of our game. It’s what got us here. So we definitely want to be more in the 20’s in assists, but that’s what got us here. And we got to be able to make shots. We got to be able to move the ball. We know that. But playing iso-ball has helped us get to this point, and it has gave us success in the last three years. So we don’t want to have a high steady diet of it because the defense becomes stagnant and our players become stagnant, but that’s part of our package.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PykezamVy5Q
Game 2 is set for Sunday at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC, right back inside Oracle Arena. It seems the Cavs will need to make a few adjustments. We’ll just have to wait and see if they can get the ball moving.