Cavaliers vs. Warriors: Game 1 Live Stream Schedule and Pre-Series Comments
After a long wait, the 2015 NBA Finals is nearly here. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors got some much-needed time off by ending their respective conference final opponent early, though that has left more time for discussion about this series.
Both teams certainly have a lot to say, whether it's answering questions about injuries or talking about trying to end decades' worth of frustration for their respective fanbases. It's a series loaded with storylines and discussion points.
With the sun set to rise for the Cavaliers-Warriors matchup on Thursday night, here's what both sides are talking about in their quest for a championship.
| Thursday, June 4 | Oracle Arena in Oakland, California | 9 p.m. | ESPN3.com |
The Injuries
After six months and more than 90 games played for both teams, Cleveland and Golden State should be battling fatigue. The key will be using adrenaline to overcome that for at least the next four games, though sometimes the body has other ideas.
The Cavaliers have one star player who is nursing an injury coming into the series, while the Warriors received good news about Klay Thompson's health.
For Cleveland, Kyrie Irving is trying to get his legs back under him after missing two games against Atlanta even though he returned for 22 minutes in Game 4.
The 23-year-old is poised to make his first appearance in the NBA Finals, though he's admitted to reporters his knee isn't going to be fully healed by the time Game 1 tips off.
"Unless something miraculous happens [I won't be 100 percent before Game 1]," Irving said, per Northeast Ohio Media Group's Chris Haynes. "Just like I said before, and I'm going to keep saying it, it's a day‑by‑day thing. Continue to get treatment and do what it takes."
In the same Haynes report, Cavaliers head coach David Blatt said he's had to limit Irving in practice even though he "wouldn't say he's had a setback, but progress has been slow."
If there is a silver lining for Irving, it's that he was able to play well in that last game against the Hawks, putting up 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. Golden State's defense is superior to Atlanta's, so Irving will have to work harder to get his points.
On the other side, Thompson was cleared to return from the concussion he suffered against Houston, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Thompson said in Spears' report that he's been on the right track after being able to practice during the week.
"I felt great, honestly, these past few days," Thompson said. "I feel like I'm getting my wind back. Tomorrow is the final tune-up, and I'm just trying to stop the nerves and anxiousness or even the doubt as much as possible.
The star shooter was in dangerous territory, because there is no set timetable to heal from a concussion. It's just one of those things that gets better when it gets better.
Thompson and the Warriors certainly sounded optimistic about him being able to play in Game 1 before he was cleared. The 25-year-old told the Associated Press (h/t Yahoo Sports) the following on Monday after returning to practice.
''I expect to be (cleared),'' Thompson said. ''I'm well on my way there. I haven't been cleared yet, but I fully expect to be in the next couple days.''
Days before Thompson returned to practice, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle that his star shooter was "doing well."
As good as Thompson is for the Warriors, Irving's health is the focal point. The Cavaliers can't match their opponent's depth, so they need James and Irving to be at their best if they want to win a championship.
There's no doubt the week off has helped Irving get better, but it's not enough to sound encouraged by where he's at. The Cavs are going to need J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson to elevate their games with the star point guard at less than full strength.
LeBron James at His Best
LeBron James has accomplished so much in his 12 NBA seasons that at the age of 30 it wouldn't be unfair to think his peak was in the rear-view mirror. After all, it's hard to top the run from 2003-14 when he won four MVP awards, two NBA Finals MVPs and grew to be regarded as one of the greatest players in league history.
Yet if you ask James coming into this series how he's playing, the King has reached new heights. James talked to ESPN's Dave McMenamin about his game coming into the NBA Finals.
"I think if you put it all together, yeah," James said. "If you put everything together as far as my mind, my body, my game. If you put everything in one bottle, this is probably the best I've been."
James' numbers in the postseason don't support that, as the future Hall of Famer is shooting 42.8 percent overall and 17.6 percent from three-point range in 14 games.
Yet there's also a mental aspect that James mentions which shouldn't be overlooked. In the previous four years with Miami, there was a never-ending pressure put on his shoulders to win, because he was the best player on the best team—an argument could be made that San Antonio was better than the Heat last year when the Spurs won the title.
While James remains the NBA's best overall player, it would be hard to argue that the Cavaliers are better than Golden State. He's always going to have pressure to win, because people need to bring up comparisons to Michael Jordan for whatever reason.
In McMenamin's piece, Kevin Love even says that it's been easy to see a change in the way James is approaching the game with this team:
"I think it's tough. Was he bouncier at one point? Physically, it's tough to say. But as far as up here [mentally], I think he's ahead of where he was. Being able to make everybody around him better, it's a great quality. He doesn't lack that at all. I think he's truly done a phenomenal job with guys going down and helping others to play better.
"
James didn't have to make his Miami teammates better, as Dwyane Wade was already a Hall of Famer before he arrived and Chris Bosh was a great big man in a losing environment with Toronto. The Cavs had one bona fide star in Irving and had to rebuild this roster during the season.
Smith, Timofey Mozgov and Matthew Dellavedova have become three of the NBA's best role players since coming to the Cavs. James' role in their development, whether it's distributing the basketball or his leadership, lends more credence to his comments about never being better.
Even though the raw numbers may not support James being at his best, his mindset coming into the NBA Finals seems as clear and focused as it ever has. Don't underestimate a great athlete who doesn't feel the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Let's Defend Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry has gone from a star to one of the greatest shooters in NBA history in a short amount of time, or at least it feels that way. He's always been a great shooter, hitting 47.1 percent of all his attempts and 44 percent from beyond the arc in six seasons.
But this season has taken Curry to another level entirely, one that's seen him become impossible to defend from any spot on the floor. That's not hyperbole, either, as this shot in Game 6 against Memphis proves:
You know how to stop that?
Neither does anyone else. Here's what James told McMenamin about how one might try to slow down Curry.
"Well, the same way you slow me down," James said. "You can't."
James also said he doesn't think "there's ever been a guy in the league to shoot the ball the way (Curry) does off the dribble or off the catch, off the ball."
In the same McMenamin article, Irving said that he is the poor soul who will draw the early defensive assignment against Curry.
"It's a total team effort," Irving said. "I mean, obviously, I will be starting out on him and whatever happens going forward throughout the game, we'll make adjustments, but for me, whenever we are guarding him, it's a total team effort and team defense to kind of limit his touches and limit his shots."
It will have to be a team effort for the Cavaliers, because Irving, by his own admission, isn't going to be at full strength and isn't regarded as a strong defender anyway. He had a negative defensive box plus-minus rating from Basketball-Reference.com, which estimates how many points per 100 possessions a player contributed compared to a league-average player.
Iman Shumpert also figures to be on Curry, and he was asked about how to defend the NBA MVP:
An ideal scenario for teams is to make someone other than the superstar beat them. That rarely works, since superstars are regarded that way for a reason. They make the impossible look routine, like James gliding to the basket in a lane that looks crowded or Curry running around like a chicken with its head cut off before throwing up a three-pointer that touches nothing but net.
The Cavaliers have found a strong defensive core with Shumpert and Dellavedova to create problems for the Warriors, but no one has been able to slow down Curry for more than one game.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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