Cavaliers vs. Warriors: Biggest Turning Points That Shaped 2015 NBA Finals
The Golden State Warriors' run to greatness in the 2015 NBA Finals didn't happen in a straight line, as they took a number of twists and turns throughout six games with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Those hyping up a matchup between this year's MVP and the consensus world MVP ended up being right on the money, as the brutal six-game series had a flair for the dramatic at every turn. But it may not have happened without a couple of key moments that shifted things in their favor.
Let's take a look at three huge turning points that shaped the Warriors' run to the 2015 title.
The Shots That Weren't
If the rim were just a bit wider, we could be digesting a very different outcome.
LeBron James got a look at a 20-footer late in regulation of a tied Game 1 to win the game, but it clanked off the iron. An errant rebound fell Iman Shumpert's way, and his buzzer-beating heave just barely came up short.
The rest is history. Kyrie Irving went down with an apparent knee injury in overtime of that same game, leading to a 108-100 Warriors win in the series opener. Before the teams played another game, Irving had surgery on a broken kneecap and was announced as out for the season.
Things could have been awfully different had one of those two shots fallen, as Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle observed:
The Cavs initially rallied around the loss of Irving, as Matthew Dellavedova became superhuman for a two-game stretch and Cleveland jumped up 2-1 in the series. But the Cavs' talent discrepancy eventually shone through, as well as a lack of depth from two of their best playmakers on the bench.
As James himself noted after the Finals, it was a lot to bear, per CBS Sports NBA:
What if James or Shumpert made that shot and Irving didn't go down for the series? What if he was around to help Dellavedova shoulder the load of hounding Curry, thus limiting his impact later in the series?
We'll never know the answers to those questions, at least not unless these two teams meet again at this same stage in the future. But as time passed in these Finals, the Game 1 loss of Irving seemed to loom larger and larger.
"I Lied"
Even without Irving, the Cavs were giving the Warriors all they could handle throughout three games of the Finals. Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson were feasting in the post, and the Warriors weren't making the most of their speed advantage on the outside.
That changed with one critical move prior to Game 4, which head coach Steve Kerr opted to keep from the public for obvious reasons. He swapped Andrew Bogut out of the starting lineup in favor of Andre Iguodala, moving Harrison Barnes to the 4 and Draymond Green to center.
It worked. Iguodala had a massive 22-point outing, holding James to a series-low 20 points and helping the Warriors to take the series lead. They wouldn't lose another game.
"I lied," he told the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I don't think they hand you the trophy based on morality. They give it to you if you win. Sorry about that."
Kerr's move did more than put the Cavs coaching staff on notice. It also kept the media on its heels for the rest of the series, as Ethan Strauss of ESPN noted:
Iguodala's impact on the series only continued to grow as he remained in the starting lineup for the first time all season. He took home Finals MVP after a massive Game 6 performance, proving his worth as the glue guy who has kept this Warriors unit intact.
From the onset of the series, Iguodala's impact seemed huge as a primary defender of James. But his offensive explosion wouldn't have happened without a Game 4 switch, which can be attributed to Kerr's cunning move.
Running on Empty
They had their chances in Game 6. But if the Cavs were going to make this a seven-game series and truly vie for the championship, it seemed to all be slipping away late in Game 5.
Despite a lackluster third quarter in which they scored just 17 points, the Cavs entered the fourth down just four, with their small ball matching the Warriors to surprising success. They also learned their lesson from previous games, keeping James on the floor to start the fourth—it resulted in two baskets in the first 90 seconds.
James continued to dominate, scoring 16 points by himself in the fourth quarter. But the Warriors' onslaught ensued, as they scored 31 in the final frame to put it away in spite of James accounting for ridiculous offense, per NBA on ESPN:
He had another herculean performance in Game 6 as the Cavs bowed out of the Finals, but James never looked as dangerous again as he did late in Game 5. You could almost tell the title hung in the balance right there, with Cleveland having the opportunity to return home up 3-2.
Instead, the Cavs returned home spent after coming up short yet again.
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