Are Warriors Already Past Toughest Test En Route to NBA Championship?

The hard work appears to be over for the Golden State Warriors, who cruised past the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 104-89, Thursday at Oracle Arena.

Aside from a spirited third-quarter surge, the Cavs barely competed with a Golden State team reveling in the freedom and airspace the Oklahoma City Thunder denied it for a grueling seven games. Where the Thunder obscured the Warriors’ passing vision with thickets of arms in the Western Conference Finals, Cleveland opened broad avenues. Where OKC attacked with relentless athleticism, the Cavs sauntered, wary of matching the Warriors’ pace.

Share Tweet

Golden State built a 14-point first-half lead behind early scoring from Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut. Good looks came easily, as the smart money expected they would. Cleveland’s defense, burdened by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, was never going to bother the Warriors like that suffocating OKC straight jacket.

Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, like many, saw this coming:

The still stands from last year: the Cavaliers are a worse matchup vs. Warriors with Love and Kyrie because they are worse defensively

— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) June 3, 2016

Though the Cavaliers took the lead in the third quarter for a short stretch, the Warriors answered with a decisive bench-fueled run.

Shaun Livingston scored a postseason career-high 20 points, victimizing Irving, who chased Livingston over screens and allowed him easy access to his beloved mid-range shots. This is a problem that may not be going away; Livingston is now 18-of-21 from the field against Cleveland on the season.

Livingston’s performance impressed LeBron James, per the NBA:

“The game ball obviously goes to Shaun Livingston” – @KingJames after Game 1 of the #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/sPToVKJbJS

— NBA (@NBA) June 3, 2016

Alternative candidates: Andre Iguodala and his game-high plus-21 or Draymond Green, who finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Even Leandro Barbosa added 11 points off the pine, as the Golden State bench plastered the Cavaliers’ reserves, outscoring them 45-10 overall.

…

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com