The Golden State Warriors' latest Monday night 118-108 road win against the Cleveland Cavaliers isn't the statement game some were hoping for it to be. While a 2-0 record against their bitter rivals is more convincing than splitting the regular season series, as they have the last few years, this second matchup in less than a month is much more than meets the eye.
Here are five observations of the second meeting between these two juggernauts.
1. Steve Kerr has already started to outcoach Tyronn Lue
Even if it's the regular season, Kerr has managed to throw enough wrenches in Lue's way to make him think twice about a strategy. The Warriors helmsman started rookie Jordan Bell at center, favoring a more athletic, mobile presence to match up against Kevin Love, but the latter found success early, which led to more adjustments by Kerr. Bell played only 14 minutes, much like the Warriors' starting centers often do. Kerr then proceeded to throw different matchups at Love, whether it was Kevon Looney or the cagey veteran David West; never allowing him to get into a comfort zone with his defender.Love had an effective 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, but was only 3-of-5 from deep. While normal intuition says he had a relatively good night, it's not the makes or the percentage that matter, but the shots he wasn't allowed to take.
Kerr had looked at his Game 4 defeat in the NBA Finals as the blueprint of a doomsday scenario. The Cavs rained down a Finals-record 24 3-pointers while shooting a blistering 53.3 percent from beyond the arc. Love was 6-of-8 and one of the most dangerous perimeter snipers through that 21-point rout that kept the Cavs from being swept.
2. Defense wins championships
Golden State clamped down when it counted, and even if they didn't have some of their usual third-quarter furious runs, they were able to slowly inch away from their seven-point deficit and go into the fourth quarter with a two-point lead, outscoring the Cavs 36-27 and limiting them to 9-of-22 from the floor. The real push came in a shutdown fourth quarter, where a second unit limited Cleveland's opportunities from the perimeter with fast closeouts and smart contains, letting the rest of the starters finish it out in the last 5:30 of regulation. The Cavs were held to 4-of-21 (19 percent) from the floor, making LeBron James go to the line, where he struggled down the stretch, making only two of his five attempts and finishing 8-of-13 from the stripe. Cleveland scored a mere 17 points in the fourth quarter, giving the Warriors a massive upper hand, despite scoring only 25 points in the final period.
3. A Curry dunk sighting
For the first time this season, the Warriors floor general took air and flushed it down, coming off a sly scoop dish from his partner-in-crime Kevin Durant. Here it is in slow motion for those who missed it live.
While it's only two points, there aren't many things more energetic than seeing one of the smallest members of the team throw it down, especially on a game of this magnitude.
Curry himself couldn't believe it, and his teammates took on the chance to roast him for it.
“Hopefully, he's feeling better tomorrow,” Durant said jokingly, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I know it took a lot for him to get up there.”
“Steph can actually dunk if he gets a running start like that, if he gets the left-right plant,” Draymond Green added.
“I thought it was Klay,” Andre Iguodala said.
“I got more hops than that,” Thompson countered.
“Feels like a dream,” Curry said, with plenty of reporters asking him about his rare feat. “I thought I was going to wake up and be in my bed. But that actually happened.”
He continued to poke fun at his surprising hops after the game, taking to Twitter to relive the dream.
Introducing a new segment called “Never Seen it!” pic.twitter.com/OLhRk6C59q
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) January 16, 2018
4. A force to be reckoned with on the road
The Warriors now are one road win away from tying the all-time franchise record of 14, and it's no small feat. In four nights, the Dubs have beaten a challenging Milwaukee Bucks team, drilled 81 points in the first half and survived a furious late-game comeback against the Toronto Raptors, and taken the season series against their main rivals, the Cavs. This team started the streak against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 29 and kept it steady ever since, making it even sweeter by snapping the Cavs' 13-game home winning streak on Monday, extending their losing streak to four.Golden State has navigated this season despite several injuries to Curry, Durant, and Green; somehow managing to survive, pull together and push through the adversity, regardless of the missing man.
5. This may be the last meeting of this rivalry — for good
The Warriors and Cavs have brought us the lone biggest rivalry in the NBA in recent years, and it could all come to an end this season if the third-place Cavaliers can't pull it together and figure out a way to navigate the postseason. Thus far, LeBron James has proved to be the only player that can turn the switch from off to on, but the team has to follow as well. While Isaiah Thomas is re-incorporated into this new equation, it will take a strong adjustment to get this team from one of the worst defenses in the league to one that can stop this team. Cleveland is ranked 29th in defensive efficiency, allowing just half a point less per 100 possessions than the rebuilding Sacramento Kings. If this pattern doesn't change soon enough (and the addition of Thomas adds very little hope to that as the worst defensive guard in the league last season), this could spell the end of this Cavs era and this rivalry.
Teams like the Boston Celtics and the Raptors have proven far more capable to dealing with the Warriors, and it won't take long for them to figure out a way to eliminate this Cavs team from contention, whether it's in the remainder of the regular season, or in the postseason.
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