The Warriors’ Splash Brothers were largely ineffective in Game 1, but they still pulled out a win. Here are some takeaways.
After the Golden State Warriors were able to miraculously dig out of a 1-3 hole in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they had 72 hours before they had take the biggest stage in basketball.
Game one of the NBA Finals tipped off on Thursday night, and the Warriors strolled to a 104-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a very odd fashion. The Cavaliers have been steam rolling through the Eastern Conference, going an impressive 10-0 to start the post season before losing two straight to the Toronto Raptors. However, those would be their only two losses, that is until they ran into the buzz saw that is Golden State.
The Warriors were able to get the win in a very unusual fashion. Both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for just 20 points, their lowest scoring output of the season. Most would say if both Klay and Steph were no where to be found, they couldn’t have possibly been able to hang with arguably the hottest team this post season.
Cue Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, and Andre Iguodala. Those three alone combined for 43 of the team’s 45 bench points. In fact, the Warriors bench outscored the Cavaliers bench 45-10.
Livingston had a team high 20 points off the bench and shot a scorching 8-for-10 from the field.
“First of all, he just played a great game. I thought he looked for openings, he was very aggressive,” Coach Steve Kerr said of Livingston’s performance, “This was a strange game for us. We’re not used to having both Steph and Klay off like that with their shooting. But one thing we’ve talked about all year is if we defend and take care of the ball, then we’re always going to have someone score enough points for us.”
Not only did those three contribute off the bench, but Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes had big nights as well. Bogut finished with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in 15 minutes of play. The 10 points he scored equaled his scoring output in the entirety of last year’s Finals. Barnes put in 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting, by far his most efficient performance this post season.
Steph and Klay shot a combined 8-for-27, including 4-for-13 from behind the arc. The chances are that both of them won’t play that poorly again. Based on what we saw last night, if they play up to half of their potential, Cleveland may be in big trouble.
“I can’t remember the last time me and Steph combined for 20 points, but it’s not even about that. It’s about guys staying ready. Shaun Livingston played out of his mind, Andre Iguodala as well, Draymond , LB , I could go down the list,” Thompson said after the game one win, “The resiliency played on the defensive end, I think that’s what won us the game.”
The Cavaliers deserve some credit, however. They made a concerted effort to take a lot of things away from the Splash Brothers, forcing other Warriors to beat them. A lot of teams have done that in the past, but a combination of Steph and Klay missing some open shots, and the bench playing out of their mind contributed to the result that we saw.
As for the Cavs offensively, they shot the ball very poorly. The team combined to shoot 38.1% from the field and 33.3% from behind the arc. Kyrie Irving was the Cavs leading scoring, putting in 26, but shot just 31% from the field.
Next: Warriors Bench Takes Game 1 Over Healthy Cavs
The Cavs elected to not play Timofey Mozgov at all in Game 1, and only played Channing Frye seven minutes. If the Cavs wish to turn things around, playing those guys heavier minutes could be an adjustment that coach Tyronne Lue may want to look at.
For Golden State moving forward, they can’t expect to continue to get that much production from their role players. Both Steph and Klay are going to half to find their shot if they are going to win this series.