Takeaways from Game One of the NBA Finals
Tons to take away from Game One of the NBA Finals, here are our analysts breakdown.
Jake’s Game One Takeaway: The Warriors for sure made a STATEMENT with the win last night against the Cavs. As we all known from last year they did they did the same exact thing and lost in 7 games. It isn’t over until it’s over as someone once said. This year we know the Warriors won’t let that happen to them again.
The acquisition of KD gave them something they didn’t have last year, someone who guard LeBron. Unfortunately the Warriors did lose center Andrew Bogut in the off-season, Bogut guarding Tristan Thompson. With big man Zaza Pachulia out due to injury, the Warriors did a great job filling that spot to guard
Thompson in the lane. One thing we do know is that KD has to stay consistent, especially the way he played last night. The way the Warriors spread the floor is why KD has found such success finding the rim, especially with his six emphatic first half dunks.
The nine days of rest for the Warriors was important, especially with Coach Steve Kerr out. Expect a good series the rest of the way as we haven’t seen the inner LeBron James release yet.
Prediction: Warriors in 6
Mike’s Game One Takeaway: The long awaited 2017 Finals are finally here, and in what better way. This is now the third consecutive year that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors have met in the Finals, both easily passing by previous opponents with no challenge. The Warriors did have a slight edge coming into the series, however. They had not lost a single game in the playoffs coming into the Finals, therefore they had a whopping nine days to rest until the big game. The Cavs, however, also breezed through the playoffs, only losing one game in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics. Both teams have seemed to be dominant throughout the course of the season. Even though the Cavs did not have the best record in the Eastern Conference, their terrifying amount of talent seemed unstoppable when it came to playing the number one seed Celtics. But because of the fact that the Warriors had more wins during the regular season, they received home court advantage for games one and two.
As soon as the game began, the Warriors seemed to be in control. Their ball movement and fast paced offense helped to jump out to a small, 35-30 lead. The warriors saw good scoring from all-stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, both scoring 10 points in the first quarter. LeBron James almost single handedly kept the Cavs in this game, scoring 13 points in the first quarter. If the Warriors wanted to run away from this game, they were going to need to find a way to stop the king.
The second quarter began, which was much like the first. The Warriors kept the same fast pace and were able to stretch the lead to eight points going into the half, leading 60-58. Their great shooting as well as intimidating defense kept them in the lead.
The last two quarters were much like the first two, and Golden State cruised to a 113-91 victory. I believe that if they play like they did last night, they can win the series easily. But never count out Lebron James. We have seen in the past Lebron come back from many deficits.
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By Jake Martino and Michael Fritz
