What Did the Warriors Prove by Beating the Cavaliers?

The Golden State Warriors -7. The final score 89-83, a 6-point deficit.

This was the spread going into the Christmas afternoon showdown between two of the top three teams in the NBA.

The game didn’t play out the way most expected it to. It was a grind-it-out slug fest with the Warriors defense ultimately prevailing in the end. Even though the Warriors won the game with a healthy Cleveland Cavaliers team it was difficult to draw any conclusions from this game.

First, both teams played lousy. Defensively, the Cavs and Warriors were good, but on offense both teams were sloppy. The Warriors shot 41 percent from the field and turned it over 16 times. The Cavs were way worse. They shot 31.6 percent and only had 12 assists. Most of the shots the Cavs missed were open; they just didn’t hit them.

December 25, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30, left) dribbles the basketball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in the fourth quarter of a NBA basketball game on Christmas at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 89-83. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Cavs missing open threes was a theme during the NBA Finals and a theme tonight. Iman Shumpert, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Matthew Dellavedova were helping the Warriors build their new arena with the amount of bricks they shot.

On the flip side, they did control the tempo and the score. Whenever the game is in the high 80’s or low 90’s, the Cavs have a chance to win. This was the case tonight, but the Warriors defense was too good. When the Warriors are playing defense like last season, they are unbeatable. This team can outscore opponents and they can lock their opponents down as well.

Playing this type of game is fantastic for the Warriors, because this is the way the San Antonio Spurs are going to play them next month. The Spurs will slow tempo and take advantage of mismatches something David Blatt’s coaching staff was unable to do.

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Perhaps the biggest conclusion we can draw is that small ball is greater than bully ball. The Warriors ran the Cavs out of the gym once they moved future All-Star Draymond Green to the center position. Love looked completely overmatched and the Warriors were able to swarm anytime one-man team LeBron James got inside the paint.

There will still be excuses from Cavs fans about this game. The most important being Irving was still rusty. This is true — he is rusty — but even with him being rusty they had a chance to win the game but didn’t make enough shots. The Warriors were without Harrison Barnes, who might be just as important to the Warriors as Irving is to the Cavs. Barnes doesn’t score like Irving, but he keeps the second unit intact to start the second and fourth quarters. Without Barnes the Warriors second unit struggles, as they did again on Friday.

January 18th will be an intriguing game. Irving won’t be rusty, and Cavs will shoot better at the Q. The Warriors have to play better; otherwise it might be a different game.

Still Salty

Perhaps the biggest talking point of the game will be the ridiculous comments former Warrior coach Mark Jackson made regarding Stephen Curry. He said Curry is hurting the NBA because all the kids want to be like Curry and not want to work on the other aspects of their game.

This is wrong on a number of levels. First, most of these kids probably don’t have the athleticism of their counterparts, so shooting threes gives them a chance to be successful in the game. Also, most kids imitate Curry’s pre-game dribbling routines and finally, the NBA is becoming a three-point shooting contest, whether Jackson likes it or not.

Jackson’s bitterness was on display once again toward the Warriors. He has every right to be angry, but directing it at Curry is classless and a coward’s way out.

Stay bitter Jackson, stay bitter.

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