If the Cavaliers keep turning in inexplicably soft performances like Thursday’s Game 1 laugher, their NBA finals rematch with Golden State will be a short one
On television it must have looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers were fleeing like frightened rats when Kevin Durant stormed through the lane for dunks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Who could blame them if they were? Once Golden State’s superstar forward gets running down court, all 6ft 9in of him, few players are willing to jump in his way.
The truth was that Cleveland’s players were striking their own losing bargain in their 113-91 loss to the Warriors: either stop Durant on the fast break and leave Steph Curry and Klay Thompson open for 3-pointers or run out to stop Curry and give Durant the dunk. Instant calculations told them it was better to allow the two points instead of the three, and so they moved away from Durant. But smart math doesn’t always send the right message.
Related: LeBron may or may not be a better player than Jordan, but he's a better man
Continue reading...